MASTER 

NEGA  TIVE 

NO.  91  -80402 


MICROFILMED  199 


1 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES/NEW  YORK 


as  part  of  the 
"Foundations  ol^  Western  Civilization  Preservation  Project" 


Funded  liv  tlie 
NATIONAL  ENDOWMENT  FOR  THE  HUMANITIES 


Reproductions  may  not  be  made  without  permission  from 

Columbia  Universitv  Library 


cop\T<iGHi^  stait:ment 


The  copyright  law  of  the  United  States  -  Title  17,  United 
States  Code  -  concerns  the  making  of  photocopies  or  other 
reproductions  of  copyrighted  materiaL . . 

Columbia  University  Library  reser\'es  the  right  to  refuse  to 
accept  a  copy  order  if,  in  its  judgement,  fulfillment  of  the  order 
would  involve  violation  of  the  copyright  law. 


AUTHOR: 


MENDELSSOHN- 
BARTHOLDY.  KARL 


TITLE : 


GOETHE  UND 
MENDELSSOHN 

PLACE: 

LONDON 

DA  TE : 

1874 


COi--A._,iMBI  A 
PRESiiRV 


slVERiDlYY  l,JBRARii:':S 


VllUN  DEf\AR'rMliN"r 


Master  Negative  # 


BI 


OCRAIMIIC,,^  MfClUlFORM  l^\R(,l':i 


Original  Material  as  Filmed  -  Existing  Bibliographic  Record 


GC 
M522 


Restrictions  uii  Use: 


llendelssofin-Bnrtholdy,  Karl,  183a-1897. 

Gcxii  e  ai  I  Mendelssohn.  (1S21-1831.)  Translated,  with 
additions  from  the  German  f  Dr.  Karl  Mendelssohn-Har- 
tholdy,  1}  M.  E.  von  Glehn.  U'ith  portraits  and  facsimile, 
and  letters  by  Mendelssohn  of  Liter  date.     London,  Macmillan 

and  CO..  1>^;^^,  ^  AB74  .      2d.    ed . 


"lU^i- 


H-rr-izZ^" fl*'''***    '2  i^^ri.  (Inrl.  ffont.)      lie'*. 

Delivered  nn  n  lrx?turo  before  the  Hl^torlcnl  arlence  soclot)',  Freiburg 
Im  Brelsf:nu,  Mnrch.  1871.  Here  published  In  ertr^n'^od  form.  cf.  Aa- 
thor'8  pref .  ^^  i  i  N  U  tD  ON  WEXT  miO 

J[^  Ooethe,  Johann   Wolfgans:  yon.   1740-1M-.      2.   •.Mviidclsouhn-Uar- 
tboJcb',  Pellx.  ISO^UWZ.      ^L  Olehn,  Uh^  M.  E.  von,  tr. 


fJK-rar}-  of  Congrefw 


no.5ir)Mr. 


8~C011 


FILM     SIZE:  5^^  ^ 


IMA(;h  ['PLACEMENT:    lA 


TECITNICAI  MICROFORM  DATA 


RliVnjCl'lUN 


iB     IIB 

DATE      Fil.MHL): ^_^_-^  ^^IsJlIP-  I  N  iTI  A  LS.//^^^^^^^ 

FILMiiDBY:    RESEARCH  PUBLICATIONS,  INC  WOODBRIDGE,  cf 


Master  Negafive  # 


CO  1 . Li M B 1  /\  IJNTVFRSTTV  !J B K /\ R l ES 
rKi'SHRA'AllON  D1<^ARTM1•^NT 

1 5 1 !  ?HOG  R  A 1 '  H 1 C  M  i  (i(  () !  ( )  I  (M  lA  I  i  GLi 


Original  Malerin!  ns  Filmed  -  Existing  Bibliographie  Record 


Reslriciioiib  i,)i'.  Use: 


MMIO 
M5 
I-E 
1874 


Mendelssohn-Bartholdy,   Karl,  1838-1897. 
and  Ilendelssohn.     1874.     (Card  2) 

Copy  in  Music.     1874. 


Goethe 


FILM     SIZE:.3>A7_/»1   _ 

IMACi;  rLACiiMi:\TT:    lA     U 


TECHNICAL  Mi(::i<i>FORVf  DATA 


IIa     111} 


REDUCTION     RATIO:__//^_ 
RUBOCATIONS.  JNC  WÜQDBRIDGE.  CT 


DATE      I'ILMI  i).^W  INITIALS  ^ 

IIL.MliD  BY:    KtSEARCIi  PÜBt 


I  fr 


Association  for  information  and  Image  IManagement 


1100  Wayne  Avenue,  Suite  1100 
Silver  Spring.  Maryland  20910 

301/587-8202 


Centimeter 

12        3        4         5 

iiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiii 


u 


6 

iliiiil 


7        8         9        10       11       12       13       14       15    mm 

iiliiiiliiiiliNiliiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^jimi 


WW 


m 


I  I  h  1  i  I  I  I 


I     I 


inches 


1 


III      I  I  M  I  T 

2 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


TTT 


i^ 

2.8 

2.5 

1^ 

3.2 

2.2 

■  63 

^  1^ 

2.0 

IS. 

t    ^ 

biteu 

.8 

1.4 

1.6 

TTT 


MfiNUFPCTURED   TO   RUM   STRNDflRDS 
BY   APPLIED   IMRGE.     INC. 


THE  LIBRARIES 


Bequest  of 

Frederic  Bancroft 

1860-1945 


!f  . 


GOETHE 


AM) 


MENDELSSOHiN 


J 


y 


<>■ 


•^\ 


V 


J 


—  ^//,,  Uf'/n//'/,, 


/       / 


// 


J.)/ 'A 


J' 


f/f    ///.>    / 


''^  /// 


y- 


f/f. 


O'.:  M'.'^,/', 


•Aj.jf'//// 


^).///A','AA 


V 


/.//     /,/.l     / 


/ 


/>// 


fl  ,  »^'.i-"^.-»     A  -^- 


GOETHE 


AND 


MENDELSSOHN 


(1821— 1831.) 


TRANSLATED,    WITH   ADDITIONS,    FROM    THK   (JERMAN 

OF 

DR.    KARL   MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY 


BV 


M.    E.   VON   GLEHN. 


WITH  PORTRAITS  AND  FACSIMILE, 
AND  LETTERS  BY  MENDELSSOHN  OF  LATER  DATE. 


I 


HAt^.1Vij.Lik:N*..-A'ND    CO. 

.        ,    c        •••  ••••••••••       •         •• 

•..•:  •::'.' 


•  •  ••    • » 

*  •     •  • 

«   •  ••    • 


* 
> 

•     •  •. 


....      • 
•    .   •   • 

•    •   • 


I  77/1  J^^il  *>f  'ki'/>vduttto}i'is\eserved.\ 


GC 
MS'ZZI 


9 


TO 


MRS.  VICTOR   BENECKE, 


ELDEST  DAUGHTER  OF 


FELIX   MENDELSSOHN   BARTHOLDY, 


AND   HIS   NEAREST   RELATIVE  IN   THIS   COUNTRY, 

THIS  LITTLE  VOLUME, 
IN    MEMORY   OF   HER   FATHER, 


AND 


IN   GRATITUDE   FOR  ALL  THE   HAPPINESS 


I   ENJOY  THROUGH   HIM. 


•  -•  • 


• . .       •  •  •  • 
•  •  •  •  •    •  • 


•   «  «  »   • 


•    •      •  •    •      . 


»       •    I  •   .    •  *    •• 1  I 


•  • 


»  -*  • 


» * 


* 

•  •  • 

•  •   • 


•    •    • 


« k  * 


•  •  < 

»  •  • 

•    ♦  • 


•  •    «    » • 


•  •  • 

■•  •  •  . 

•  •  • 

« *  •  •  *  » 


AUTHOR'S    PREFACE 


TO    THE 


ENGLISH    EDITION. 


The  following  pages  were  written  in  the  midst 
of  the  great  events  of  the  year  1871. 

It  is  strange  to  see  that  even  at  so  absorb- 
ing a  time  the  higher  life  of  the  nation 
was  especially  directed  to  artistic  productions. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  '*  Historical  Science 
Society,"  held  at  Freiburg  in  Breisgau  on  the 
8th  of  March  last,  to  celebrate  the  establish- 
ment of  the  German  Empire,  I  delivered  a 
lecture    on     Goethe    and     Mendelssohn.       This 

b2 


Vlll 


AUTHOR'S   PREFACE. 


lecture  I  shortly  afterwards  repeated  at  Con- 
stance, and  by  general  desire  I  now  publish  It 
in  an  extended  form. 

It  is  an  episode  of  Weimar's  golden  days 
which  we  see  before  us— old  age  and  fame 
hand  in  hand  with  youth  in  its  aspiring 
efforts;  the  aged  Poet  fondling  the  curls  of 
the  little  musician  and  calling  to  him  in 
playful  and  endearing  accents  "to  make  a  little 
noise  for  him,  and  awaken  the  winged  spirits 
that  have  so  long  lain  slumbering." 

The  boy  matures  into  the  young  man,  and 
can  now  produce,  as  well  as  receive.  He  has 
to  tell  Goethe  about  Hengstenberg,  and  Spon- 
tini.  and  Heeel's  "  ^Esthetics  : "  he  teaches 
the  Poet  to  understand  Beethoven;  brings 
before  him  on  the  piano,  in  chronological  order, 
all   the   great   composers,  and   shows   how  they 


AUTHOR'S    PREFACE. 


IX 


have  furthered  the  art.  The  conversation  next 
touches  on  the  poetic,  the  scientific,  and  the 
moral  world  :  on  the  profound  and  ancient 
problem  of  human  life, — which  the  author  of 
"Faust"  thus  explains  in  speaking  to  Ecker- 
mann*  of  the  following  passage  in  the  fifth 
Act  of  his  poem  : — 

"Wer  immer  strebend  sich  bemüht, 
Den  können  wir  erlösen  "  — 

"  The  key  to  Faust's  deliverance  is  contained 
in  these  lines ;  in  Faust  himself  there  is  a 
spirit  of  energy  which  grows  ever  nobler  and 
purer  to  the  end ;  whilst  everlasting  love  sus- 
tains him  from  on  high.  This  is  in  perfect 
harmony  with  our  religious  conceptions,  for  it 
is  not  by  our  own  efforts  alone  that  we  are 
saved,  but  by  the  help  of  divine  grace.'* 

*  Conversation  of  June  6th,  1831. 


H 


II 


AUTHOR'S   PREFACE. 


Too  soon  did  it  pass  away,  that  artist-life 
which  in  its  early  dawn  had  so  delighted 
Goethe.  What  the  Poet  said  of  the  restless 
and  self-consuming  energy  of  his  friend  Schiller, 
became  prophetic  for  Mendelssohn.  Of  the 
composer  of  the  "Midsummer  Night's  Dream" 
and  "  Elijah,"  one  might  also  say :  "  There 
was  something  terrific  in  his  progress ;  he  went 
forward  unceasingly  till  his  thirty-eighth  year, 
— and  then  came  the  end ! " 

But  Mendelssohn's  life,  short  as  it  was,  may 
be  considered  rich  and  happy,  if  true 
happiness  lies  in  making  others  happy,  and  in 
obtaining  the  recognition  which  is  due  to  un- 
tiring zeal  and  activity.  Where  else  could  his 
energy  have  met  with  such  enthusiastic  acknow- 
ledgment, or  his  music  with  so  sympathetic 
a    reception,    as    in    the    country    which,    since 


« 


»      \ 


:) 


AUTHOR'S   PREFACE. 


XI 


Handel's  time,  has  always  shown  how  true 
artists  should  be  honoured  ?  How  happy  and 
how  completely  at  his  ease  he  felt  in  England, 
how  deeply  sensible  of  the  homage  paid  to 
him  there  as  a  man  and  as  an  artist,  he 
never  failed  to  acknowledge. 

The   publication   of  the   accompanying  letters 
from    my    father    to    Mr.     Macfarren    and     Sir 
W.   Sterndale    Bennett— English  artists   of  con- 
genial   mind   with    his    owm — as  well    as    of  the 
account  of  his  visit  to  Buckingham  Palace,  will 
serve   to     recall   to    the    memory   of    many   the 
master    whom     Prince    Albert,    after    the     first 
performance  of  the  "  Elijah,"  addressed  as  "  the 
noble    artist   who,   though   encompassed   by   the 
Baal-worship    of    false    art,   has    by   his    genius 
and   industry    succeeded,    like   a   second   Elijah, 
in   preserving   the    faithful  worship    of  true    art. 


XU 


AUTHOR'S   PREFACE. 


and  out  of  the  confusion  of  senseless  and 
trivial  music  has  once  more  attuned  our  ears 
to  the  pure  music  of  imitative  and  regulated 
harmony;  —  the  great  master  who,  in  the 
tranquil  current  of  his  thoughts,  reveals  to  us 
the  still  small  voice  no  less  than  the  mighty- 
strife  of  the  elements." 

Karl  Mendelssohn  Bartholdy. 


Freiburg  im  Breisgau, 
March  3,  1872. 


I1 


i 


TRANSLATOR'S   PREFACE. 


I  NEED  hardly  express  the  great  pleasure  which 
it  gives  me  to  be  the  means  of  introducing 
this  little  volume  to  English  readers.  Any 
new  facts  in  the  life  of  the  great  musician  of 
our  times  must  be  heartily  welcomed  by  all 
who  knew  and  loved  him  when  he  was  among 
us,  or  who,  like  myself,  have  since  learned  to 
know  and  love  him  through  his  music  and 
letters.  Especially  is  this  the  case  when  the 
facts  are  not  only  new  but  highly  characteristic, 
and  given  for  the  most  part  in  his  own 
fresh  and  lively  style. 


T 


XIV 


TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE. 


TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE. 


XY 


But  beside  the  new  details  about  Mendels- 
sohn, the  following  pages  have  yet  another 
interest,  introducing  us  as  they  do  to  the 
greatest  of  German  poets  under  a  new  aspect, — 
that  of  his  interest  in  and  love  for  music.  No 
doubt  it  was  Mendelssohn's  charming  per- 
sonality and  winning  ways  which  first  attracted 
Goethe,  but  it  is  evident  that  he  loved  music 
for  its  own  sake  also,  and  that  in  the  wide 
embrace  of  his  universal  mind  it  had  its  true 
place,  with  all  the  other  arts  and  sciences 
which  he  loved  and  studied  with  so  much 
ardour  and  method. 

The  shortcomings  in  my  version  will,  I  trust, 
be  attributed,  not  to  any  want  of  desire  to  do 
justice  to  the  subject,  but  to  the  inherent  diffi- 
culties of  the  task  of  translation  —  difficulties 
which    those   only   who   have    attempted   it   can 


fH 


enter  into.  In  historical  or  scientific  works, 
where  matter,  and  not  manner,  is  the  chief  point 
to  be  kept  in  sight,  the  task  is  comparatively 
easy;  but  in  the  case  of  letters  or  conver- 
sations, where  the  aim  is  a  faithful  representa- 
tion of  individual  style,  it  is  well-nigh  hopeless ; 
the  phrases  must  often  sound  odd  and  un- 
natural, each  language  having  its  own  peculiar 
expressions,  colloquialisms,  and  idioms,  which 
frequently  have  no  equivalents  in  another  lan- 
guage ;  and  this  because  in  one  nation,  thoughts 
and  feelings  will  constantly  be  given  utterance 
to,  which  in  another  are  totally  unnatural 
and  perhaps  never  expressed.  Thus,  not  only 
the  words,  but  also  the  thoughts  and  ideas  of 
the  original  are  often  stumbling-blocks  in 
one*s  way. 

I   gladly  take  this   opportunity   of  expressing 


XVI 


TRANSLATOR'S    PREFACE. 


■I  I 


k 


my  thanks  to  Mrs.  Victor  Benecke  and  Mr. 
George  Grove  for  their  great  kindness  in 
revising  the  proofs  of  the  translation,  and  for 
their  advice  and  assistance  throughout  my  work. 
Also  to  Madame  Preusser,  Sir  William  Stern- 
dale  Bennett,  Mr.  Macfarren,  Mr.  Novello  and 
others,  for  their  permission  to  insert  the  letters 
addressed    to    them,  or  in    their  possession,  and 


included  in  the  Appendix. 


M.   E.  VON  Glehn. 


Sydenham,  May  24//^,  1872. 


The  Engraving  in  the  frontispiece  represents  Felix 
Mendelssohn  in  his  twelfth  year.  It  is  from  a  chalk 
drawing  by  William  Hensel,  from  the  original  portrait  in 
oils  painted  by  Begas  in  the  year  1821. 

The  sketch  at  page  16 — now  first  made  public — is  a 
fac-simile  of  a  pencil  drawing  taken  in  1820  or  1821, 
and  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Hensel  family.  The 
signature  at  the  foot  of  this  sketch  is  that  to  the 
"Waldteufel"  letter  (page  30). 

Goethe's  signature  on  the  cover  is  from  the  original 
of  the  lines  given  on  page  34.  The  fragment  of  the 
B  minor  Quartett  is  imitated  from  the  autograph ;  and 
the  signature  below,  with  the  flourish,  is  slightly  re- 
duced from  an  autograph  in  one  of  the  earliest  volumes 
of  Mendelssohn's  manuscript  boyish  compositions. 


li 


CONTENTS. 


xiz 


CONTENTS. 


Zelter.  2 ;  Felix's  compositions  at  twelve  years  old,  4  ;  Proposed 
visit  to  Weimar,  4  ;  His  parents'  anxiety,  5  ;  Arrival  at  Weimar, 
7  ;  Sees  Goethe,  8  ;  Dinner — music— whist— Fanny  Mendels- 
sohn's songs,  9;  Goethe  unbends  to  Felix,  10,  11  ;  Felix  im- 
provises, 12  ;  Minuet  in  Don  Juan  and  Overture  to  Figaro,  14; 
Plays  from  Autograph  of  Mozart,  15  ;  and  of  Beethoven,  16  ; 
Conversation  about  Felix,  19  ;  Goethe's  care  of  him,  21  ;  Romps, 
bouts-rimes,  23  ;  The  boy's  description  of  Goethe,  24  ;  Adele 
Schopenhauer— Zelter  scolded,  25  ;  Goethe's  song  for  Fanny,  27  ; 
Felix's  judgment  —  Szymanowska  —  Riemer,  28  ;  Return  to 
Berlin,  29  ;  Letter  from  Felix— the  Waldteufel,  30  ;  the  Jacob' s- 
ladder— Adele's  silhouettes,  33  ;  more  verses  by  Goethe,  34 ; 
and  more  silhouettes,  35  ;  Sketch  by  Goethe,  35  ;  Second  visit 
to  Weimar,  36  ;  A  mother's  delight,  37  ;  Saul  and  David,  38. 

Felbc  fifteen— his  fourth  opera,  39  ;  Zelter's  account,  40 ;  Double- 
Concerto,  42  ;  Journey  to  Paris — Cherubini,  42 ;  Felix's  judgment 
on  Cherubini,  44 ;  and  on  music  in  Paris,  45  ;  Urhahn — Kalk- 
brenner— Herz,46;  The  Opera— Aubers  Ldocadie,  48 ;  Piccolo, 
49;  Ignorance  of  Parisians— Bach  and  Monsigny,  50;  Baillot 
and  Felix's  B  minor  Quartett,  5 1  ;  Allegro  feroce  on  Paris,  52  ; 
Kyrie,  53;  Weimar  again,  54;  Dedication  of  Quartett  to 
Goethe,  54  ;  Goethe's  acknowledgment,  55  ;  Felix  translates  the 
"Andria,"  56;  Foohsh  critics,  57;  Berlin  University— Hegel, 
59  ;  Goethe's  affection  for  Felix,  61. 

Felix  starts  for  Italy,  62  ;  arrives  at  Weimar,  63  ;  rouses  Goethe, 
64  ;  Pleasant  life,  66  ;  Goethe  takes  "  music  lessons,"  67  ;  Felix 
not  allowed  to  go,  68 ;   Conversation  in  the  park — Goethe's 


f 


I 


banter,  69;  Stendhal — Walter  Scott,  70;  Schiller,  71;  the 
Grand  Duke,  73;  the  year  1775,  74;  Ostade's  "Prayer"— 
Farewell  devotions,  76  ;  the  Parting,  ']']  ;  Ottilie's  letter,  78. 
Munich — Felix's  letter,  79  ;  Music  parties  at  Munich — South  and 
North  Germany,  81  ;  Rome— ridiculous  artists,  83  ;  Goethe's 
comments,  84  ;  Walpurgis  Night,  87  ;  Felix's  return  through 
Switzerland,  87 ;  Life  in  the  mountains,  88 ;  Storms,  89 ; 
Engelberg — Bach,  and  Swiss  monks,  93  ;  Goethe's  birthday, 
93  ;  Droll  theatre  at  Lucerne,  95  ;  Schiller's  powder  of  pro- 
duction, 96  ;  Goethe's  poem  on  Tell,  97  ;  Goethe  and  Schiller, 
98  ;  Munich — Paris — Goethe's  death,  loi. 

APPENDIX. 
Letters  of  Mendelssohn. 

I.     I.  To  Herr  Gustav  Preusser,  June  29,  1842.    Plans  for  Swiss 
journey,  105  ;  Family  greetings,  106. 

2.  To  his  Mother,  July  19,  1842.     Life  and  friends  at  Frank- 

fort, 107  ;  London  society,  109 ;  Buckingham  Palace, 
no;  Prince  Albert's  organ— a  royal  gift,  in  ;  the 
Queen's  singing,  n2;  Mendelssohn  improvises,  114; 
Scotch  symphony— the  parrot,  n4  ;  Crossing  to  Ostend, 
IIS- 

3.  To ,  April  2,  1843.     Recollections  of  Paris,  ll^  ;  Herr 

Dürrner,  n8. 

4.  To  W.  Sterndale  Bennett,  April  3,  1839,  Handel's  scores, 
n9  ;  Inquiries  as  to  "  Samson,"  120  ;  Alternative  pieces 
in  "Handel,"  121. 

5.  To  G.  A.  Macfarren,  April  2,  1843.  Chevy  Chase  overture, 
122. 

6.  To  the  same,  Nov.  20,  1843.     Chevy  Chase,  125. 

7.  To  the  same,  June  6,  1844.  Mendelssohn's  conscientious- 
ness, 126. 


IL 


™'*»#'»-i*6*%«i~       *     ^^     ^^r      ■ 


-^Jttäia»w«[.^an>;ij 


sfeisr'WÄsr'^saitr^*-  ^ 


jIi^ 


XX 


CONTENTS. 


8.  To  the  same,  Dec.  8,  1844.     Performance  of  "  Anti^jone"  at 

Covent  Garden,  128;  Chorus-Recitatives,  130;  acting 
of  Chorus,  131. 

"  Israel  in  Egypt." 

9.  To  the  Handel  Society,  March  i,  1845.     Subscription  of 

King  of  Saxony,  134;  and  King  of  Prussia,  135  ;  Proofs, 

135- 

10.  To  W.  Sterndale  Bennett,  May  26,  1845.     Questions  as  to 

passages  in  the  autograph  of  "  Israel  in  Eg)^pt,"  136. 

11.  To   G.  A.   Macfarren,  Sept.  28,  1845.     Gender  of  "  haut- 

boys," 138;    No  more  alterations,  139;    Correction  of 
proofs,  139. 

12.  To    the    same,    October    1845.      Vexatious    mistakes    of 

engravers— Organs,    140;   Slurs,    141;   Suggestions   of 
Council,  143. 

13.  To  the  same,  Dec.  31,  1845.     More  suggestions  of  Council, 

145. 

14.  To  the  same,  April  3,  1846.     His  own  subscription,  146. 

15.  To  the  same,  Dec.  28,  1845.     Final  corrections  of"  Israel," 

147 ;  Loyalty  to  Handel,  148  ;  No  Trombones,  149. 


'-■m 


I 


w 


•  4' 


III.  16.  To  the  Hofrath  Friedrich  Rochlitz,  Feb.  25,  1835.  Thanks 
for  proposed  Oratorio-book,  150  ;  Scheme  of  "  St.  Paul," 
151. 

17.  To  Mr.  J.  Alfred  Novello,  April  7,  1838.     Prize-fighting  in 

music,  152  ;  Psalm  xlii.,  153  ;  Cologne  Festival,  154. 

18.  To  Herr  Anton  Zuccalmaglio,  Dec.  4,  1839.     Thanks  for  an 

Opera-book,  154. 

19.  To     Herr    Adolf    Böttger,    Dec.    10,    1841.      Legend    of 

**  Genoveva,"  157. 

20.  To   Professor   Wolfgang  R.    Griepenkerl,    Nov.    18,   1844. 

Opera-book,  158;  Shakespeare's  "Tempest,"  159. 


r!»".1 


,4  ä 


GOETHE 


AND 


MENDELSSOHN. 


Most  young  people  need  some  outlet  for  their 
inborn  impulses  of  hero-worship  and  affection. 
It  is  fortunate  for  them  when  their  enthusiasm^ 
is  inspired  by  a  true  and  noble  ideal ;  when 
their  minds  can  gain  force  and  elevation  from 
the  examples  of  great  men,  rising  like  constel- 
lations above  the  horizon  of  their  own  time. 

The  opportunities  which  Felix  Mendelssohn 
enjoyed  as  a  boy,  of  seeing  and  knowing 
Goethe  in  his  own  house,  gave  an  impulse 
to  his  whole  life.  Goethe's  living  presence 
strengthened  and  fostered  that  love  for  perfec- 
tion, and  that  dislike  for  everything  mean  and 
morbid,  which  always  distinguished  him.. 

B 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1821 


13TH  year] 


GOETHE   AND  ZELTER. 


The    meeting   was    brought   about    by    Zelter, 
an   original  in  every  sense  of  the  word.     What- 
ever Zelter  did,   he  did   by  himself  alone.     We 
know    from     his    autobiography-^    that     though 
forced    by   his   father   to   work    at    the    mason's 
trade,  yet,  both    as  apprentice  and  journeyman, 
he    pursued    music    unceasingly  till   he   had   tho- 
roughly acquired  the  art,  never  allowing  himself 
to   be   discouraged  by  the    depreciatory  remarks 
of    professional    musicians,    such    as    Kirnberger, 
who   told    him    to  his    face    that   "while   an    or- 
dinary workman  is   always   respectable,  there    is 
nothing   more   pitiable   than    an    ordinary   artist, 
such  as  you  will  be.'' 

Like  most  autocrats,  Zelter  had  a  very  posi- 
tive and  rough  manner  of  his  own,  and  his 
plain  speaking  and  rudeness  were  proverbial 
among   the  artists  of  Berlin.     There  was  some- 

*  Carl  Friedrich  Zelter,  eine  Lebenschreibung.     Nach  autobio- 
graphischen  Manuscripten  bearbeitet    von    Dr.   Wilhelm    Rintel 
Berlin,  1861. 


/  ä 


thing    rigid,    stubborn,    and     rough-hewn    about 
him,    a    native    force    which    nothing    but     the 
wonderfully    harmonious    personality   of    Goethe 
could  have  softened.     From   the  moment  of  his 
reading    "Werther"   he  was   filled  with   a   deep 
sympathy   and    attraction    for    the    man    whose 
knowledge    of   human    nature   had    enabled    him 
to   give    such    a  work  to    the  world ;    and    after  - 
he  had  become  personally  acquainted   with   him 
there  was  no  one  who  clung  with  truer  devotion 
to    Goethe.      The    correspondence   between   the 
two    is    a    lasting    memorial    of    the    union     of 
characteristic  force  and  true  friendship. 

Zelter  speaks  of  the  artistic  efforts  of  the 
Berliners,  describes  the  progress  of  the  "  Sing- 
Akademie,"  and  at  an  early  period  in  the  corre- 
spondence draws  the  attention  of  the  great 
art-patron  at  Weimar  to  Felix  Mendelssohn, 
the  most  gifted  of  his  pupils. 

In   a    letter   of  the    26th    October,    182 1,   he 
thus  announces  to    his   friend  his  proposed  visit 

B  2 


I      L 


GOETHE   AND    MENDELSSOHN, 


[1821 


13TH  year] 


HIS   PARENTS'   ADVICE. 


to  Weimar  :  '*  I  want  to  show  your  face  to  my 
Doris,  and  my  best  pupil,  before  I  leave  the 
world,  though  I  certainly  mean  to  hold  out  in 
it  as  long  as  possible.  The  boy  is  good  and 
pretty,  lively  and  obedient." 

Felix  was  then  only  twelve  years  old,  but 
for  that  age  he  had  already  displayed  extra- 
ordinary musical  productivity.  He  had  written 
two  operas,  and  nearly  finished  a  third ;  had 
composed  for  the  Sing-Akademie  a  Psalm  in  four 
and  five  parts  with  a  grand  double  fugue ;  as 
well  as  six  symphonies,  a  quartett  for  piano 
and  strings,  a  cantata,  six  fugues  for  pianoforte, 
and  a  number  of  studies,  sonatas,  and  songs. 

"Just  fancy,"  says  his  mother,  writing  to  her 
sister-in-law,  Henriette  Mendelssohn,  in  Paris, 
''that  the  little  wretch  is  to  have  the  good 
luck  of  going  to  Weimar  with  Zelter  for  a  short 
time.  He  wants  to  show  him  to  Goethe,  and 
is  to  take  him  there  next  week  after  they  have 
been  to  the  exhibition   of  Schadow's  picture   of 


-V. 
''V, 

> 

■A 


Luther  at  Wittenberg.  You  can  imagine  what 
it  costs  me  to  part  from  the  dear  child,  even 
for  a  few  weeks.  But  I  consider  it  such  an 
advantage  for  him  to  be  introduced  to  Goethe, 
to  live  under  the  same  roof  with  him,  and  enjoy 
the  blessing  of  so  great  a  man.  I  am  also 
glad  of  this  little  journey  as  a  change  for 
him  ;  for  his  impulsiveness  sometimes  makes  him 
work  harder  than  he  ought  to  at  his  age." 

It  may  easily  be  understood  how  much  the 
boy  was  exhorted  to  make  the  most  of  the  rare 
opportunity  thus  afforded  him.  ''  Keep  your 
wits  about  you,"  writes  his  father.  ''  Every  time 
I  write  to  you,  my  dear  boy,  I  shall  remind  you 
to  keep  a  strict  watch  over  yourself;  to  sit 
properiy  and  behave  nicely,  especially  at  dinner ; 
to  speak  distinctly  and  suitably,  and  try  as 
much  as  possible  to  express  yourself  to  the 
point.  I  know  what  a  good  fellow  you 
are,  and  therefore  think  it  hardly  necessary 
to    remind    you    to   be   good   and    modest,   and 


•1 


% 


GOETHE   AND    MENDELSSOHN. 


[1821 


13TH  year] 


ARRIVAL   AT   WEIMAR. 


obedient  to  your  fatherly  friend  and  guide, 
and  not  to  forget  often  to  think  affectionately 
of  us." 

His  mother  writes:  ''If  I  could  but  be  a 
little  mouse  so  as  to  watch  my  dear  Felix  while 
he's  away,  and  see  how  he  comports  himself 
as  an  independent  youth.  Mind  you  snap  up 
every  word  that  Goethe  says  :  I  want  to  know 
all  about  him.'* 

Nor  could  his  elder  sister,  Fanny,  resist  adding 
her  exhortations  :  ''  When  you  are  with  Goethe, 
I  advise  you  to  open  your  eyes  and  ears  wide; 
and  after  you  come  home,  if  you  can't  repeat 
every  word  that  fell  from  his  mouth,  I  will  have 
nothing  more  to  do  with  you.  It's  better  for 
us  to  lose  you  for  a  little,  that  during  that 
time  you  may  lay  up  the  most  precious  recol- 
lections for  your  future  life." 

The  reports  which  the  young  traveller  sent 
home  to  these  anxious  monitors  exhibit  a 
peculiar  mixture  of  observation  with  the   happy 


ino^enuousness  of  a  child.  He  describes  the 
beautiful  arrangement  of  Goethe's  house ;  the 
pleasant  ''  Salve "  which  greeted  him  on  the 
threshold  of  the  door  leading  to  the  chief 
apartment;  the  statues  on  the  steps  and  in  the 
lobby,  which  suggested  Greece,  the  dreamland 
of  the  poet.  No  doubt  the  boy's  heart  beat 
as  he   trod   the  sacred  threshold. 

"  Now,  stop  and  listen,  all  of  you,"  he  writes 
on  the  6th  November.  "  To-day  is  Tuesday. 
On  Sunday,  the  sun  of  Weimar — Goethe — arrived. 
In  the  morning  we  went  to  church,  and  they 
gave  us  half  of  Handel's  looth  Psalm.  (The 
organ  is  large,  but  weak  ;  the  Marien-organ,*  small 
as  it  is,  is  much  more  powerful.  This  one  has 
50  stops.) 

*'  Afterwards  I  went  to  the  *  Elephant,'  where  I 
sketched  the  house  of  Lucas  Cranach.  Two 
hours  afterwards  Professor  Zelter  came  and  said, 
'Goethe  has  come, — the  old  gentleman's  come!' 

*The  organ  of  the  Marien- Kirche  at  Beriin. 


8 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1821 


13TH  year] 


WEIMAR.      FANNY'S   SONGS. 


and  in  a  minute  we  were  down  the  steps  and 
in  Goethe's  house.  He  was  in  the  garden, 
and  was  just  coming  round  a  corner.  Isn  t  it 
strange,  dear  father?  that  was  exactly  how 
you  met  him.  He  is  very  kind,  but  I  don't 
think  any  of  the  pictures  are  Hke  him. 

''  He  was  looking  over  his  collection  of  petri- 
factions, which  his  son  had  arranged  for  him, 
and  kept  saying,  *  Hm,  hm !  I  am  very  much 
pleased.'  After  that  I  stayed  in  the  garden 
with  him  and  Professor  Zelter  for  half  an  hour. 
Then  came  dinner.  One  would  never  take  him 
for  seventy-three,  but  for  fifty.  After  dinner 
Fräulein  Ulrike,  the  sister  of  Frau  von  Goethe, 
asked  for  a  kiss,  and  I  did  the  same.  Every 
morning  I  get  a  kiss  from  the  author  of  '  Faust ' 
and  '  Werther/  and  every  afternoon  two  kisses 
from  my  friend  and  father  Goethe.  Think  of 
that!  (In  Leipsic  I  went  several  times  through 
Auerbach's  curious  courtyard,  a  great  passage, 
like  many  others    in    Leipsic,    filled   with   shops 


j 


I 


i. 


and     people,    and    shut    in     by    houses    six     or 

seven  stories  high.     On  the  market-place    there 

is  actually  one  of  nine  stories.) 

''  But  where  am  I  wandering  to !     After  dinner 

I  played  to  Goethe  for  two  hours  and  more, 
partly  Bach  fugues,  and  partly  extempore.  In  the 
evening  they  played  whist,  and  Professor  Zelter, 
who  played  with  them  at  first,  said,  *  Whist 
means  that  you  are  to  hold  your  tongue  ! '  What 
a  good  saying !  We  had  supper  all  together,  even 
Goethe  too,  though  generally  he  never  eats  any- 
thing in  the  evening.  Now,  my  dear  coughing 
Fanny!*  yesterday  morning  I  took  your  songs  to 
Frau  von  Goethe,  who  has  a  pretty  voice.  She  is 
going  to  sing  them  to  the  old  gentleman.  I  told 
him  that  you  had  written  some,  and  asked  if  he 
would  hear  them.  He  said,  'Yes,  yes,  very 
willingly.'      Frau    von    Goethe    liked    them    very 

*  This  probably  refers  to  a  supposed  habit  of  Fanny  Men- 
delssohn's, of  criticising  her  brother's  compositions  by  coughing. 
After  telling  her  of  the  honour  and  kindness  shown  him,  he 
thus  jokingly  challenges  her  disapproval. 


lO 


GOETHE  AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1821 


much,  which  is  a  good  omen.  He  is  to  hear  them 
to-day  or  to-morrow.  I  am  so  sorry  that  I  shall 
not  see  Lipinski  again." 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  Felix  soon  got  over 
the  constraint  of  the  first  acquaintance,  and 
made  himself  at  home  in  the  house  of  the  man 
whom  others  approached  with  the  greatest 
deference. 

The  descriptions  which  Goethe's  contempo- 
raries give  of  his  appearance — the  solemn,  slow 
gait,  the  powerful  features,  the  lofty  brow  on 
which  Apollo  had  set  his  seal  of  strength  and 
wisdom,  the  abundant  grey  hair,  the  deep  voice 
and  measured  speech,  all  convey  an  impression 
of  stately  dignity.  Even  Zelter,  who  usually 
despised  all  outward  forms,  used  to  appear  at 
Goethe's  in  the  fullest  dress ;  that  is  to  say, 
short  black  silk  breeches,  silk  stockings,  and 
shoes  with  great  silver  buckles,  a  costume  lono- 
out  of  fashion,  and  supposed  to  bear  the  stamp 
of    peculiar     solemnity.       Goethe    himself    ad- 


) 


V 


13TH  year] 


GOETHE'S   HEART   WON. 


II 


mitted    that   he    reserved    a    certain    indifference 
of    manner    for    strangers    who    came    to     visit 
him,  and   it  is  well  known  how  cold  and  repel- 
ling  he   was   to  Carl   Maria    von    Weber.      But 
for     the     "little     Berliner'*     he     laid     aside    all 
his    ministerial   dignity,   and    stroked  and  patted 
his    head    with    such    fatherly    tenderness,    that 
the  boy  soon  lost  all  bashfulness,  and  gave  way 
to    his    tremendous    spirits    in  all    their   youthful 
freshness.      It  was  evident  that  Goethe  felt  quite 
as   much   personal  attraction   for  the  boy  as    in- 
terest  in  his  music.     At   the   first   party   which 
Goethe  gave  for  the   Berliners,  he  amused   him- 
self with  making  a  trial  of  Felix's  talent  before 
all  the  company.     "  My  friend    Zelter,"  he  said 
to  Rellstab,*  ''  has  brought  his  little  pupil  to  see 
me ;  we  are  to  have  a  trial  of  his  musical  powers, 
but   he   is   extraordinarily  talented  in  other  w^ays 
as    well.      You    know    the   doctrine   of  tempera- 

*  See  Rellstab's  Aus  meinem  LebeJi,  Berlin,  1861,  vol.  ii.  chapter 
II. — "  Mendelssohn  im  Goetheschen  Haus." 


isa 


12 


GOETHE  AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1821 


ments;  everyone  has  all  the  four  in  him,  only 
in  different  proportions.  Well,  this  boy,  I  should 
say,  possesses  the  smallest  possible  modicum 
of  the  phlegmatic,  and  the  maximum  of  the 
opposite  quality." 

The  first  test  to  which  Goethe  put  the  young 
artist  was   to  make  him   improvise  on   a  theme 
furnished   by   Zelter.      Zelter  sat   down   to    the 
piano,     and     with     his     stiff,     cramped     fingers 
played    a    very   simple    tune    in    triplets,    "Ich 
träumte    einst    von    Hannchen,"    as    tame    and 
trivial  an  air  as  need  be.     Felix  played  it  through 
after   him,    and    the    next   minute   went   off  into 
the    wildest     allegro,    transforming    the    simple 
melody  into  a  passionate  figure,  which  he   took 
now    in     the    bass,    now     in     the     upper    part, 
weaving     all     manner     of    new     and     beautiful 
thoughts  into  it  in  the  boldest  style.     Everybody 
was  in  astonishment,  as  the  small  childish  fingers 
worked    away   at    the   great    chords,    mastering 
the  most  difficult  combinations,  and  evolving  the 


I3TH    YEAR] 


MASTER   AND   PUPIL. 


«3 


most  surprising  contrapuntal  passages  out  of  a 
stream  of  harmonies,  though  certainly  without 
paying  much  regard  to  the  melody. 

It  was  one  of  Zelter's  principles  to  be  very 
chary   of    praise;    his    aim    being    to  save    his 
pupil   from    conceit   and   over-estimation   of    his 
own    powers -"  those    cursed    enemies    of   all 
artistic     progress,"    as    he     called     them.        No 
[j      sooner    therefore    had    Felix   finished    than    he 
said,  in  a  tone  of  the  most  complete  indifference, 
like    an    old    pedagogue   bent   on   spoiling    the 
boy's    brilliant   success,    "What   hobgoblins   and 
dragons    have    you    been    dreaming    about,   to 
drive  you  along  in  that  helter-skelter  fashion ! " 
Goethe  saw  his   object,  and  taking  the   head 
of   the    little   artist   in    his   two  hands,  and   ca- 
ressing  it,    said    in    a    playful    way:    "But   you 
won't  get  off  with    that;   you    must   play   more 
before    we    can     quite    believe    in    you."       So 
Felix     had     to    play    Bach     fugues,    of    which 
Goethe   was    particulariy  fond;    then   he   asked 


y 


14 


GOETHE   AxND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1821 


for  a  minuet,  upon  which  the  boy  cried  out 
with  flashing  eyes,  **  Shall  I  play  you  the  most 
beautiful  one  in  the  whole  world  ? "  and  played 
the  Minuet  from  Don  Juan. 

Goethe  stood  by  the  piano  listening  atten- 
tively, and  his  eyes  sparkling  with  pleasure. 
After  the  Minuet  he  asked  for  the  Overture, 
but  this  the  little  player  refused  on  the 
spot,  declaring,  ''  It  can't  be  played  as  it  is 
written,  and  it  wouldn't  be  right  to  alter  it 
in  the  least."  He  offered,  however,  to  play 
the  Overture  to  Figaro  instead,  and  acquitted 
himself  of  the  task  with  so  much  confidence 
and  ease,  rendering  the  orchestral  effects  so 
completely,  bringing  out  so  many  delicate 
touches  in  the  instrumentation  by  his  manner 
of  playing,  and  giving  each  part  its  due  pro- 
minence, that  the  effect  was  overpowering. 
Goethe  became  more  and  more  genial  and 
lively,  and  tried  all  sorts  of  tricks  and  jokes  on 
his  little  guest. 


13TH  year] 


READING  AT   SIGHT. 


15 


"So  far,"  said  he,  "you  have  only  played  me  what 
you  knew  before  ;  now  we  will  see  if  you  can  play 
something  that  you  don't  know."     He  went  out, 
and  returned  with  a  number  of  sheets  of  written 
music.     "Here,"  said  he,  "are  some  things  out 
of  my  collection  of  manuscripts.     Now  we  will  put 
you  to  the  test ;  see  if  you  can  play  that : "  and 
he  placed  on  the  desk  a  sheet  of  music,  in  clear 
but  very  small  writing.     It  was  an  autograph  of 
Mozart^s.     The  boy  solved  the  task  as  readily  as 
if  he  had   known  the  piece    by  heart  for  years. 
"  That's  nothing,''  said  Goethe,  as  everybody  was 
applauding  loudly;  ''other  people  can  read  that 
too ;   but  now  I  am  going  to  give  you  something 
in  which  you  will  break  down.     So  take  care ! " 
And  with  this  joking  threat  he  got  out  another 
manuscript    and  put  it  on   the  desk.     This    one 
did  indeed  look  strange.     It  was  difficult  to  say 
whether  it  was  music  at  all,  or  merely  a  sheet  of 
ruled  paper  bespattered  with  ink  and  smudged  all 
over.     Felix  burst  out  laughing,  and  exclaimed, 


i6 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[182 1 


h 


"  What  writing !  how  is  it  possible  to  read  that  ?  " 
But  suddenly  he  became  serious ;  for  when 
Goethe  asked,  ''  Now  guess  7a/io  wrote  that ! " 
Zelter,  looking  over  the  boy*s  shoulder  as  he 
sat  at  the  piano,  called  out :  ''  Why,  it's  Bee- 
thoven's writing ;  "^^'  one  can  see  that  a  mile  off. 
He  always  writes  as  if  he  used  a  broomstick, 
and  then  wiped  his  sleeve  over  the  wet  ink.  I 
have  several  manuscripts  of  his ;  they  are  soon 
recoe^iized.'' 

Felix  kept  his  eyes  reverently  fixed  on  the 
paper;  and  his  whole  face  glowed  with  excite- 
ment, as  out  of  the  chaos  of  words  and  notes, 
scratched  out,  smudged,  interlined,  and  written 
over  one  another,  he  brought  to  light  some  lofty 
thought   of  beauty,   or   some    deep   noble   senti- 

*  Goethe  had  made  acquaintance  with  Beethoven  at  TöpHtz, 
but  had  not  learned  to  appreciate  his  "  uncontrolled  person- 
ality." "  His  talent  excited  my  astonishment,  but  unfortunately 
his  personality  is  entirely  uncontrolled  ;  he  is  perfectly  welcome 
to  think  the  world  detestable,  but  by  that  means  he  does  not 
make  it  more  enjoyable  for  himself  or  for  others."  (Letter  to  Zelter, 
Carlsbad,  Sept.  2,  181 2.) 


r" 


-^n^-t)  V 


^ 


L>- 


FrDin  a  Sketch  laF^n  m  or  about,  1820. 


f 


r 


<z^. 


UrlL 


J) 


tr 


orn  a  Sketch  laivon  :r;  orai-)Oai  'K 


t 


I 


13TH  year] 


BEETHOVEN'S  AUTOGRAPH. 


17 


ment.  But  Goethe,  anxious  to  make  the  test  a 
really  severe  one,  left  him  no  time  to  consider, 
but  kept  urging  him  on  : — ''  You  see,  didn't  I 
tell  you  that  you  would  break  down  ?  Now  try, 
and  show  what  you  can  do."  Felix  began  to 
play  at  once.  It  was  a  simple  song,  but  to  dis- 
tinguish the  right  notes,  among  those  that  had 
been  scratched  out  and  half  smeared  out,  required 
a  rare  quickness  and  sharpness  of  perception. 
At  the  first  reading  Felix  had  often  to  point 
laughingly  with  his  finger  to  the  right  note  which 
was  to  be  found  in  quite  another  place ;  and  many 
a  mistake  had  to  be  corrected  with  a  hurried 
"  No,  that's  it."  But  at  the  end  he  said,  ''  Now  I 
will  play  it  to  you,"  and  the  second  time  there  was 
not  a  single  wrong  note.  *'  That's  Beethoven,"  he 
exclaimed  once  as  he  came  upon  a  phrase  which 
seemed  to  him  to  bear  the  stamp  of  the  composer's 
individuality ;  "  that  is  quite  Beethoven  :  I  should 
have  known  him  by  that."  With  this  trial  Goethe 
let   him    off.      He    concealed    his   praise    under 


i8 


GOETHE  AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1821 


pleasant  banter — ''Here  you  broke  down,  you 
know,  and  here  you  were  not  safe ;  *'  but  it 
was  easy  to  see  what  a  keen  artistic  pleasure  he 
took  in  the  boy*s  triumph. 

A  day  or  two  after,  when  the  youthful  com- 
poser's first  quartett*  had  been  performed,  and 
Felix  himself,  after  playing  the  pianoforte 
part,  had  run  off  into  the  garden,  Goethe  re- 
marked to  the  other  players  :  t  ''  Musical  pro- 
digies, as  far  as  mere  technical  execution  goes, 
are  probably  no  longer  so  rare  :  but  what  this 
little  man  can  do  in  extemporizing  and  playinc^ 
at  sight,  borders  on  the  miraculous,  and  I  could 
not  have  believed  it  possible  at  so  early  an  ao-e." 

**And   yet   you    heard    Mozart  in  his  seventh 
year  at  Frankfort  ? ''  said  Zelter. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Goethe  ;  **  at  that  time  I  myself 

*  In  B  minor,  Op.  3.  Afterwards  dedicated  to  Goethe.  See 
page  54. 

t  See  Prof.  Lobe's  Reminiscences  in  the  Gartenlaube  for  1867, 
No.  I.  Also,  by  the  same,  Consonanzen  und  Dissonanzen  • 
Leipsic,  1869. 


13TH  year] 


MOZART   AND   FELIX. 


19 


had  only  just  reached  my  twelfth  year,  and  was 
certainly,  like  all  the  rest  of  the  world,  immensely 
astonished  at  his  extraordinary  execution ;  but 
what  your  pupil  already  accomplishes,  bears  the 
same  relation  to  the  Mozart  of  that  time,  that 
the  cultivated  talk  of  a  grown-up  person  does 
to  the  prattle  of  a  child." 

The  conversation  turned  upon  the  young 
artist's  talent  for  composition.  The  musicians 
hoped  that  as  Felix's  ideas  were  more  indepen- 
dent than  those  of  Mozart  at  the  same  age,  a 
most  brilliant  future  might  be  predicted  for  him. 
**  May  it  be  so,"  said  Goethe.  "  But  who  can 
tell  in  what  manner  a  mind  may  ultimately  unfold 
itself.'^  One  sees  so  much  talent,  full  of  the 
highest  promise,  take  a  false  direction,  and  dis- 
appoint the  most  sanguine  expectations !  How- 
ever, from  this  fate  our  young  genius  will  be 
preserved  by  the  master  whom  good  fortune 
has  provided  him  with  in  Zelter." 

Zelter  would  not  let  these  words  pass  unques- 

c  2 


90 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1821 


13TH  year] 


FELIX'S    POPULARITY. 


21 


tioned.  **  True/'  he  observed ;  **  I  feel  my  re- 
sponsibility about  the  boy,  and  besides  his  own 
voluntary  work  I  keep  him  seriously  to  the 
point  with  severe  studies  in  counterpoint,  but  it 
will  not  be  long  before  he  escapes  from  my 
discipline.  Even  now  he  has  learned  almost 
everything  that  is  essential ;  and  once  free,  it  will 
then  first  be  seen  what  his  actual  bent  will  be." 
*'  Ygs,  and  above  all,''  remarked  Goethe,  ''  the 
influence  of  a  teacher  is  always  problematical. 
That  which  constitutes  the  real  greatness  and  in- 
dividuality of  an  artist,  must  be  produced  out  of 
himself  alone.  To  what  teachers  did  Rafaelle, 
Michel  Angelo,  Haydn,  Mozart,  and  all  the 
great  masters  owe  their  immortal  creations  ? " 

With  all  his  fatherly  tenderness  for  the  ''httle 
Berliner"  one  sees  how  free  from  bias  the  poet 
was  in  his  judgment  of  him.  He  specially 
inquired  of  Zelter  how  Felix  was  educated  at 
Berlin,  and  whether,  according  to  Berlin  fashion. 


5 

•; 
1 


Ü 


I 


he  was  not  too  much  coddled.  He  did  not 
like  to  see  so  much  fuss  made  with  the  boy  by 
all  the  company.  He  forbade  him  to  go  over 
to  Jena  for  a  concert  which  had  been  got  up 
by  the  students  there ;  in  fact,  he  was  no  great 
friend  to  concerts  or  music  in  a  general  way; 
and  once  at  court,  when  a  pianoforte  player  was 
in  the  middle  of  a  very  long  sonata,  he  got 
up,  and,  to  the  horror  of  all  the  throng  of  court 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  said,  ''  If  it  lasts  three 
minutes  longer,   I  confess  everything." 

During  his  stay  at  Weimar,  Felix  played 
much  more  than  usual,  often  from  six  to  eight 
hours  a  day;  he  played  before  the  Grand 
Duke  and  Grand  Duchess  of  Russia,  and  the 
Princesses;  he  even  had  the  '^audacity,"  as  he 
writes  to  his  mother,  to  improvise  before  all 
the  court,  and  in  presence  of  Hummel.  His 
G  minor  sonata '"  was  very  much  praised  by  both 

•Begun    "i8th  June,   1820;"    finished    "  iSth  August,   1821." 
Recently  published  as  Opus  105. — Trans. 


22 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1821 


13TH  year]  amusements    AT   WEIMAR. 


23 


the  Grand  Duke  and  Hummel.  The  chief 
lady-in-waiting  of  the  Grand  Duchess  began  to 
make  a  drawing  of  him,  and  the  ladies  were  all 
so  absurd  about  him  that  Goethe  complained  to 
Zelter,  "  These  women  here  are  doing  all  they 
can  to  spoil  the  boy  for  me."  But  one  day, 
when  Felix  had  been  ordered  to  play  at  court, 
he  was  kept  outside  in  the  antechamber  of  the 
Belvedere ;  the  servants  would  not  let  him 
pass  :  so  at  last,  instead  of  playing,  he  went 
off  to  Weimar  in  a  pet,  and  left  the  court  to 
wait  for  him.  For  which  he  doubtless  under- 
went a  paternal  lecture  from  the  Herr 
Geheimrath. 

The  little  Berliner  had  in  a  short  time 
become  the  favourite  of  the  whole  Goethe 
family.  Often  when  sitting  at  the  piano, 
weaving  into  one  long  fantasia  all  manner  of 
favourite  airs,  such  as  "  Treibt  der  Cham- 
pagner," Eberwein's  songs,  Körners  ''  Treuen 
Tod,"  the   Triangle   Waltz   (in  that    Philhellenic 


V" 


time  of  course  called  the  '*  Ipsilantiwalzer"), 
he  would  jump  up  in  the  middle  to  have  a 
good  chase  round  the  room  with  the  younger 
ladies.  Once  he  teased  one  of  the  ladies-in- 
waiting  with  a  bellows,  which  he  had  picked 
up  somewhere  near  the  fireplace,  and  maliciously 
directed  at  her  curls — and  yet  no  one  was  ever 
angry  with  him.  ''  If  you  think  I  am  little 
Zaches,"  he  writes  to  his  sister  Fanny  at 
Berlin,  /'then  Doris  must  be  Rosabelverde, 
for  it  is  she  that  curbs  me,  ungovernable 
steed    that    I    am." 

It  was  impossible  at  Weimar  to  escape  the 
atmosphere  of  poetry,  and  so  round-games  of 
rhymes  formed  part  of  the  day's  amusements ; 
Felix  and  the  ladies  had  many  a  contest  over 
öozäs  rimes,  often  ending  with  a  noisy  appeal  to 
the  crreat  master  himself  to  arbitrate  on  their 
doggrel.  Goethe  entered  heartily  into  the  up- 
roarious spirits  of  the  young  people,  and  was 
very  loth   to  let  the  Berliners  go ;    and  when  at 


24 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1821 


the  end    of  a  fortnight   Zelter  began  to   talk  of 
going  home,  he  seriously  reprimanded  him. 

**  Every  afternoon,"  says  Felix,  '*  Goethe  opens 
the  Streicher  piano  *  with  these  words,  *  I  have 
not  heard  you  at  all  to-day,  so  you  must  make 
a  little  noise  for  me/  Then  he  sits  down  by 
me,  and  when  I  have  finished  (generally  im- 
provising) I  beg  for  a  kiss,  or  else  I  take  one. 
You  can  have  no  conception  of  his  goodness 
and  kindness,  nor  of  the  quantity  of  minerals, 
busts,  engravings,  statuettes,  and  large  drawings 
which  this  Pole-star  of  poets  has  in  his  posses- 
sion. That  he  has  an  imposing  figure,  I  cannot 
see ;  he  is  really  not  much  bigger  than  my 
father.  But  his  look,  his  language,  his  name, 
they  are  imposing.      His  voice  has  an  enormous 

*"By  the  thoughtful  care  of  our  long-tried  friend,  Hofrath 
Rochlitz,  a  most  carefully  tested  Streicher  piano  arrived  from 
Leipsic ;  very  fortunately ;  for  soon  afterwards  Zelter  brought 
us  his  astonishing  and  remarkable  pupil  FeHx  Mendelssohn, 
with  whose  marvellous  talent  we  should  never  have  become 
acquainted,  without  the  help  of  such  a  'Mechanik.'" — Tag  und 
yahreshefte. 


\ 


13TH  year] 


ZELTER   IN   DISGRACE.' 


25 


sound  in  it,  and  he  can  shout  like  ten  thousand 
fighting  men.  His  hair  is  not  yet  white,  his 
walk  is  steady,  and  his  manner  of  speaking 
gentle. 

"  Zelter  wanted  to  go  to  Jena  on  Tuesday,  and 
from  there  on  to  Leipsic.  On  Saturday,  Adele 
Schopenhauer  came  to  us,  and,  contrary  to  his 
custom,  Goethe  stayed  the  whole  evening.  The 
conversation  turned  upon  our  departure,  and 
Adele  proposed  that  we  should  all  go  and 
throw  ourselves  at  Professor  Zelters  feet  and 
implore  for  a  few  days'  grace.  He  was  dragged 
into  the  room,  and  then  Goethe  burst  out  with 
his  thundering  voice,  scolded  Professor  Zelter 
for  wanting  to  take  us  away  to  the  old  nest, 
commanded  him  to  be  silent,  to  obey  without 
a  word,  to  leave  me  here,  to  go  to  Jena  alone 
and  then  come  back  —  in  fact  he  so  com- 
pletely drove  him  into  a  corner  that  he  will 
do  everything  that  Goethe  wishes.  After  this 
Goethe   was  assailed   by  everybody  with   kisses 


»r 


26 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1821 


13TH  year] 


SONG   BY   GOETHE. 


27 


on  his  mouth  and  hands,  and  whoever  could  not 
reach  these,  stroked  and  kissed  his  shoulders  ; 
if  he  had  not  been  at  home,  I  think  we  should 
have  taken  him  to  his  house,  as  the  Roman 
people  did  Cicero  after  the  first  Catiline  ora- 
tion. Fräulein  Ulrike  also  had  thrown  herself 
upon  his  neck,  and  as  he  is  making  love  to  her, 
and  she  is  very  pretty,  the  effect  of  the  whole 
was  capital." 

So  it  was  decided  to  lcno:thcn  the  visit,  and 
to  go  on  making  music,  writing  verses,  and 
enjoying  happy  days. 

*'  When  Goethe  says  to  me,  *  My  little  one, 
to-morrow  there  is  a  party,  and  you  must  play 
for  us,'  how  can  I  possibly  say  No  ?  Goethe 
has  heard  '  Ach  wer  bringt  die  schönen  Tage,' 
and    said    to   me,    ',1   say,  that    is   a  very  pretty 


sonof. 


}  J» 


* 


*  Letter  of  the  14th  November  to  his  parents.  The  allusion  is 
to  Fanny  Mendelssohn's  setting  of  this  poem,  hitherto  unpub- 
lished, and  not  to  be  confounded  with  my  f;ither's  later  well- 
known  composition  (Op.  99,  No.  i). 


Felix  had  told  him  that  his  sister  Fanny 
wanted  some  words  to  set  to  music ;  so  one 
day  Goethe  came  wath  a  poem  written  ex- 
pressly for  her,  saying  to  Zelter,  as  he  handed 
it  to  him,  ''  Give  this  to  the  dear  child."  It 
ran  thus  : 

AN    DIE    ENTFERNTE. 

Wenn  ich  mir  in  stiller  Seele 

Singe  leise  Lieder  vor  : 
Wie  ich  fühle,  dass  sie  fehle, 

Die  ich  einzig  auserkor. 
jMöcht  ich  hoffen,  dass  sie  sänge 

Was  ich  ihr  so  gern  vertraut ; 
Ach !  aus  dieser  Brust  und  Enge 

Drängen  frohe  Lieder  laut.* 

W^hen  in  silence  of  the  soul, 

Softly  to  myself  I  sing, 
How  I  miss  her  whom  my  whole 

Heart  hath  set  o'er  everything  ! 
Would  she  sing  what  in  her  ear 

My  full  heart  would  fain  be  telling, 
From  this  breast,  so  vainly  swelling. 

Songs  would  break  forth  glad  and  clear. 

*  Goethe's  autograph  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Fanny's  son 
Sebastian  Hensel,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  above. 


\ 


28 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1821 


13TH  year] 


RETURN   TO   BERLIN. 


29 


However,  with  all  her  veneration  for  the  manu- 
script, Fanny  never  attempted  to  compose  it 

It  IS  characteristic  of  the  boy  that  though 
only  twelve,  and  full  of  reverence  for  the  great 
poet,  he  should  never  have  allowed  his  judge- 
ment to  be  biassed.  Of  Mdlle.  Szymanowska, 
a  Polish  pianoforte  player,  whom  Goethe  used 
to  praise  enthusiastically,  he  writes  :  ''  People  set 
the  Szymanowska  above  Hummel.  They  have 
confused  her  pretty  face  with  her  not-pretty 
playing."  When  he  had  to  dine  with  Goethe's 
friend  Riemer,  he  said  it  gave  him  ''quite  a 
Greek  feeling;"  and  he  described  the  great 
lexicographer  with  due  respect  as  follows  :  *'  He 
seems  to  thrive  on  the  making  of  Lexicons.  He 
is  stout  and  fat,  and  as  shiny  as  a  priest  or  a 
full  moon."  If  Goethe  had  heard  these  and 
similar  expressions  of  his  little  Berlin  guest, 
they  would  no  doubt  have  confirmed  his  opinion 
of  the  Berliners,  which  he  himself  thus  pro- 
nounced to  Eckermann  :   "  From  all  that   I   see, 


I  gather  that  the  Berliners  as  a  class  are  such 
a  forward  set,  that  delicacy  is  thrown  away 
on  them ;  one  must  have  one's  eyes  wide  open 
and  be  even  a  little  rude  to  keep  above  water."* 
At  dessert  he  gave  his  young  friend  as  a 
parting  gift  a  little  red  box,  which  F'elix,  to  his 
delight,  found  to  contain  a  silver  medal  with 
the  portrait  of  the  poet  by  Borry. 

When  the  young  traveller  returned  to  Berlin, 
after  all  these  impressions  and  excitements,  he 
seemed  ten  times  more  lively  than  ever.  ''  The 
first  day,"  writes  his  mother,  "he  was  really 
like  a  volcano,  quite  bursting  with  fun  and 
spirits.  Zelter  had  charged  him  to  speak  slowly 
and  distinctly,  but  you  can  fancy  how  such 
an  injunction  would  act  on  his  tremendous 
excitability.  Their  absence  grew  from  a 
fortnight  to  four  weeks,  of  which  the  sixteen 
days  that  he  spent  in  Goethe's  house  will 
always  be  memorable  to  him.     Zelter  and  Doris 

*  Conversation  of  4th  December,  1823. 


30 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1821 


13TII  YEAR]     CHRISTMAS.     THE  WALDTEUFEL. 


could    not    talk   enough    about   the  sensation   he 
created  in  Weimar." 

The  approach  of  Christmas  gave  Felix  the 
opportunity  of  recalling  himself  to  the  memory 
of  his  Weimar  friends  in  an  amusing  way.  At 
Ottilie  s  wish  he  sent  his  playfellows  Wolf  and 
Walter  a  kind  of  rattle  (called  in  Germany  a 
Waldteufel— Xh^t  is,  a  Wood-spirit),  a  favourite 
toy  of  the  Berlin  street-boys;  and  he  accom- 
panied  his   present  with  the    following  letter  :— 


'  * 


**A  'Waldteufel. 

*' Here  is  the  'Waldteufel'  You  command 
—and  it  is  done.  Will  you  be  so  good  as  to 
give  it  to  my  dear  little  playfellow  as  a  small 
Christmas  present.  But  I  rather  advise  you  to 
taboo  this  droning  little  brute,  for  the  sound  of 
him    in    a   room   is    most   excruciating;    out    of 

*  Communicated   by  Professor   Nohl  from  the  original   in  the 
Hofbibliothek  at  Carlsruhe. 


doors,  at  the  Berlin  Christmas  fair,  where  you 
see  and  hear  the  noisy  things  by  hundreds,  the 
clatter  is  more  bearable.  I  do  so  wish  (out  of 
pure  selfishness)  you  were  here,  and  could  see 
it  all  with  your  own  eyes.  Walter  would  be 
delighted  with  the  fair,  the  lights,  the  toys,  and 
the  racket,  and  hubbub,  and  din,  and  scream- 
ing, of  the  *  Waldteufel '  and  the  children.  And 
if  the  Herr  Kammerrath  wants  to  be  sickened 
of  the  famous  Ypsilanti,  he  had  better  come 
to  Berlin  and  go  to  the  fair,  where  one  can 
hear  it,  with  or  without  variations.  But  to  him 
the  best  part  of  all  the  fun  would  be  the  happy 
faces  wherever  you  go,  both  of  givers  and 
receivers. 

''  You  would  enjoy  the  fair  this  year,  for  it  is 
most  splendid,  and  up  to  to-day,  the  20th  of 
December,  we  have  not  had  more  than  one 
degree  of  frost. 

''  So  much  for  the  Berlin  Christmas  fair. 

^'Volti  Subito. 


''  What  is  all  Weimar  about  ? 

''  What  an  imp07'ta7it  (jiiestion! 

"It  was  my  father's  birthday  on  the  nth. 
We  gave  him  as  much  as  we  could.  All  our 
friends  gave  him  presents.  But  one  present,  of 
course,  surpassed  all  the  rest.  The  Herr 
Geheimrath's  letter  arrived  on  that  day.  As  to 
his  sometimes  in  the  afternoons  making  a  little 
motion  with  his  head,  I  can  hardly  flatter 
myself;  it  would  be  far  too  great  an  honour 
for  my  strumming,  and  good  as  he  is,  I  can 
scarcely  believe  it.  Do  you  think  1  might 
venture  to  remind  him  of  the  leaf  he  promised 

for  my  book  ? 

"A  thousand  greetings  to  Miss  Adele/''     We 

♦  Adele  Schopenhauer  had  a  wonderful  talent  for  cutting  out 
paper.  She  had  made  a  "Jacob's  ladder"  for  Fehx  ;  that  is  to 
say  she  cut  out  in  black  paper  two  staves  of  music  with  angels 
floating  up  and  down  them.  Beneath  the  ladder  thus  formed 
there  were  clouds,  and  beneath  these  a  sleeping  figure,  with 
its  face  turned  upwards.  The  whole  was  mounted  on  pink 
paper,  and  on  the  back  was  written  :  "  Jacob,  in  his  dream, 
saw   a  ladder    reaching   up    to  heaven,  with    angels    ascending 


13TH  year] 


THE  JACOB'S    LADDER. 


33 


all  look  forward  to  the  witches-broom*  as  much 
as  to  Christmas-eve,  if  I  may  make  use  of  this 
stale  and  unpoetical  simile.  Everybody  who 
comes  here  has  to  see  the  *  Ladder '  f  (and  con- 
sequently admire  it,  and  consequently  envy  me). 
Varnhagen  saw  it  the  other  day,  and  was 
rather  taken  aback  by  it.  However,  in  a  few 
days  he  brought  my  sister  one,  which  is  to  be 
a  pendant  to  yours.  It  is  very  delicate,  like 
everything  that  he  cuts  out,  but  in  the  group- 
ing, and  more  especially  the  idea,  it  Is  far, 
far  behind  yours. 


and  descending  on  it ;  the  ladder  is  still  standing  upon  earth, 
and  the  ascending  and  descending  angels  are  the  notes  which 
carry  the  sounds  up  to  heaven."  Varnhagen  possessed  the 
same  talent  as  Adele,  and  was  incited  by  her  masterpiece  to 
cut  out  a  basket  of  flowers  with  fairies  hovering  around  it, 
for  Fanny  Mendelssohn. 

*  Another  of  Adele  Schopenhauer's  silhouettes^ — described  on 
page  34. 

t  To  understand  the  point  of  the  allusion  to  the  Jacob's  ladder, 
it  may  be  well  to  explain  that  the   German   for   the   Scale   is  • 
"Tonleiter,"  literally  a  "ladder  of  sound." — Trans. 

D 


34 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1822 


II    I 


'*  Please  remember  me  to  Herr  and  Madame 
Eberwein,  and  give  my  love  to  the  Wolf. 

''  Your  faithful 

**  F.   Mendelssohn." 

The  promised  leaf  for  the  album  was  not 
long  in  arriving.  Adele  Schopenhauer  and 
Goethe  united  to  give  their  little  Berlin  friend 
a  pleasant  surprise.  Adele  had  cut  out  in  her 
best  style,  in  pink  paper,  a  winged  hobby-horse 
in  the  shape  of  a  witches-broom,  bestridden  by 
a  little  elf,  crowned  and  decked  with  flowers ; 
and  underneath,  Goethe  had  written  the  follow- 
ing lines  in  the  most  formal  hand  : — 

"Wenn  über  die  ernste  Partitur 

Quer  Steckenpferdchen  reiten, 
Nur  zu  auf  weiter  Töne  Flur, 

Wirst  Manchem  Lust  bereiten, 
Wie  du's  gethan  mit  Lieb'  und  Glück. 
Wir  wünschen  Dich  allesammt  zurück. 


Weimar,  i/cu  20/cn  Januar^  1822." 


Goethe. 


When  up  the  score  and  down  again 
Small  hobby-horses  ride. 


I 


«I 
I 


♦ 
«I 


14TH  year] 


SILHOUETTE   OF   GOETHE. 


35 


Away  o'er  music's  wide  domain 
Fresh  pleasure  you'll  provide, 
As  you  have  done  with  loving  gain. 
We  all  here  wish  you  back  again. 

In  the  autograph  of  the  above,  the  signature 
"  Goethe ''  alone  is  in   a  bold  free  hand.     With 
Psyche's    hobby-horse    there    is     a    second    sil- 
hotiette  by  Adele — a   figure   elaborately   got   up, 
in    dress-coat,    shirt-frill,  and    knee-breeches,    hat 
in  hand,  making  a  solemn  low  bow  :  the  profile 
is    Goethe's,    and    on    the    back    of    his    neck    is 
perched  a  little  winged  genius,  with  hands    out, 
strumming  upon  his  head.      The  two  silhottettes, 
with    the     autograph     of    the    verses    and    the 
"Jacob's  ladder,"  are  still  in   my  father's  album, 
together     with     the     autograph     of     the     lines, 
"  Zwar    die     vier   und    zwanzig    Ritter,''   as    far 
as   *'  besonders  aber  eine,  welche  wir  zu  segnen 
kamen,"  and  the   manuscript  (referred  to  below) 
from  the  second  part  of  Faust :  also  a  pen-and- 
ink    sketch    by    Goethe,    representing    a    Greek 
temple,  with  a  figure  holding  a  lyre  descending 

D  2 


36 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1822 


M 


the  steps.  The  temple  recalls  the  singular 
buIldincT  which  he  erected  in  the  park  at 
Weimar.  Close  by  is  the  open  sea,  with  the 
peaks  of  an  island  rising  in  the  distance.  On 
the  o-rass  before  the  temple  is  a  Greek  woman 
in   deep  meditation. 

The  old  poet's  interest  in  the  young  musician 
continued  without  abatement.  He  writes  to 
Zelter  on  the  5th  of  February,  1822:  ''Say 
somethinor  nice  to  Felix  from  me,  and  also  to 
his  parents.  Since  your  departure  my  piano 
remains  dumb ;  a  single  attempt  to  awaken  it 
almost  turned  out  a  failure." 

In  the  autumn  of  1822  Felix  repeated  his 
visit,  this  time  in  company  with  his  sister 
Fanny  and  his  parents,  who  thus  had  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  with  their  own  eyes  how 
quickly  and  how  surely  their  son  had  won 
the  hearts  of  all. 

''In  the  Goethes  and  Schopenhauers  we  have 
made     the      most     delightful     and     never-to-be- 


14TH  YEAR]  SECOND  VISIT  TO   GOETHE. 


37 


I   ^i 


forgotten  acquaintances,"  writes  his  mother. 
'*  With  a  true  mother  s  pleasure  I  saw  how 
immensely  beloved  Felix  had  made  himself 
amongst  these  superior  people,  and  his  happy 
parents  are  proud  to  owe  to  him  the 
wonderful  kindness  with  which  they  were 
received.  Goethe,  the  distinguished,  exalted 
Minister,  around  whose  head  dignity,  renown, 
poetic  fame,  genius,  and  distinction  of  every 
kind  form  a  dazzling  crown  of  glory,  and  before 
whom  common  mortals  tremble,  is  so  sweet 
and  kind-hearted  and  so  like  a  father  to  the 
boy,  that  it  is  only  with  the  deepest  gratitude 
and  most  joyful  emotion  that  I  can  recall  these 
delightful  times.  He  talked  for  hours  with  my 
husband  about  Felix,  and  earnestly  begged'  to 
have  him  again  for  a  still  longer  visit;  his  eyes 
dwelt  on  him  with  evident  satisfaction,  and  his 
gravity  was  turned  into  gaiety  when  he  had 
been  improvising  to  his  satisfaction.  As  he 
does  not  care  for  ordinary  music,  his  piano  had 


fl 


ii 


38 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1823 


remained  untouched  during  Felix's  absence,  but 
as    he    opened   it   for   him  he   said,   '  Come   and 
awaken   for   me   all    the   winged  ^''  spirits   which 
have    so    long    been     slumbering    here.'       And 
another  time  :  *  You  are  my  David,  and  if  I  am 
ever    ill    and     sad,    you    must    banish     my   bad 
dreams  by  your  playing;   I  shall  never  throw  my 
spear  at  you,  as  Saul  did.'     Isn't  that  too  touch- 
ing from  an  old  man  of  seventy-three  ?     Felix, 
who  in  a  general  way  seems  rather  indifferent  to 
praise,  is,  with  good  reason,  proud  of  the  favour 
which  Goethe   shows  him,  and  this  feeling  can 
only  elevate  and  improve  him.     He  was  also  very 
friendly  and  condescending  to  Fanny ;  she  had  to 
play  a   good  deal   of   Bach  to  him,  and  he  was 
extremely  pleased  with  those  of  his  songs  which 
she  had   composed  ;  in  fact,  it  is  always   a  great 
delight  to  him  to  see  his  things  set  to  music." 

*  "Geflügelte  Geister."  There  is  a  play  in  the  words  here 
which  cannot  well  be  rendered  into  English,  "  Flügel "  being  the 
German  word  for  a  piano  as  well  as  for  a  wing. —  Trans, 


I 


15TH  year] 


ZELTER'S    REPORT. 


39 


In  the  succeeding  years  also,  Zelter  had  the 
satisfaction  of  being  able  to  make  gratifying 
reports  to  Goethe  of  Felix's  progress.  "  My 
Felix,"  he  writes  on  the  nth  of  March,  1823, 
"  has  entered  upon  his  fifteenth  year.  He  grows 
under  my  very  eyes.  His  wonderful  pianoforte 
playing  I  may  consider  as  quite  a  thing  apart 
He  might  also  become  a  great  violin  player. 
The  second  act  of  his  fourth  opera  is  finished. 
In  everything  he  gains,  and  even  force 
and  power  are  now  hardly  wanting;  everything 
comes  from  within  him,  and  the  external  things 
of  the  day  only  affect  him  externally.  Imagine 
my  joy,  if  we  survive,  to  see  the  boy  living  in 
the  fulfilment  of  all  that  his  childhood  gives 
promise  of!" 

''  Yesterday,"  he  reports  on  the  8th  of  February, 
1824,  "we  gave  a  complete  performance,  with 
dialogue,    of   Felix's  fourth   opera.*     There  .are 


*  The  fourth  opera  was  "  Die  beiden  Neffen,  oder  Der  Onkel 
aus  Boston.     Oper  in  3  Acten"— still  in  manuscript. 


40 


GOETHE  AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1824 


I 6th  year] 


FELIX'S    PROGRESS. 


41 


ill 


three   acts    and   two   ballets,   filling  up  about   an 
hour   and   a  half.     Tje   work    met  with  a  very 
favourable    reception.       I    cannot   get    over    my 
astonishment     at    the    enormous    strides    which 
this    boy   of    fifteen    makes.       Novelty,    beauty, 
individuality,    originality,    all    alike    are    to     be 
found  in  him, — genius,  fluency,  repose,  harmony, 
completeness,  dramatic  power,  and  the  solidity  of 
an    experienced    hand.       His    instrumentation    is 
interesting;    not  overpowering  or   fatiguing,   and 
yet    not    mere    accompaniment.       The    musicians 
like  playing  his  music,  and  yet  it  is   not  exactly 
easy.      Now  and  then  a  familiar  idea  comes  and 
passes  on  again,  not  as   if  borrowed,  but,  on  the 
contrary,   fit   and    proper    for    its   place.     Gaiety, 
spirit  without  flurry,  tenderness,  finish,  love,  pas- 
sion, and  innocence. — The  Overture  is  a  sino-ular 

o 

thing.  Imagine  a  painter  flinging  a  dab  of 
colour  on  his  canvas  and  then  working  it  about 
with  fingers  and  brushes  till  at  last  a  group 
emerges,  and   you  look  at   it  with  fresh  wonder, 


^ 


and  only  see  that  it  must  be  true  because  there 
it  is.  No  doubt  I  am  talking  like  an  old  grand- 
father bent  on  spoiling  his  grandchild.  But  I 
know  what  I  say,  and  say  nothing  which  I 
can't  prove.  And  my  first  proof  is  public  ap- 
proval, especially  that  of  the  players  and  singers  ; 
because  it  is  easy  to  discover  whether  their 
fingers  and  throats  are  set  in  motion  by  cold- 
ness and  ill-will,  or  love  and  pleasure.  You  must 
surely  understand  this.  Just  as  a  writer  who 
speaks  to  the  heart  is  sure  to  please,  so  is  a 
composer  who  gives  the  player  something  which 
he  can  not  only  play  and  enjoy  himself,  but 
make  others  enjoy  too.  This  speaks  for 
itself. — I  may  hope  that  you  will  take  my 
account  of  Felix's  progress  as  grist  to  my  own 
mill. 

"  You  know  the  misery  of  these  schools  even 
better  than  I  do  :  great  aims,  little  talent,  enor- 
mous means,  and  all  for  nothing.  These  are 
the  evils;    and  so  one  ought  indeed  to  be  glad 


42 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1825 


17TH  year] 


PARIS. 


CHERUBINI. 


43 


m 


ii 


to   find    some    one  who  does  what   he    can,  and 
is  always  ready  for  every  emergency." 

In  a  letter  of  the  26th  of  December,  1824,  he 
says  :  ''  To-day  we  are  to  hear  my  Felix's  latest 
double  Concerto.-''  The  boy  is  now  well  rooted, 
and  gives  promise  of  growing  into  a  healthy  tree. 
His  individuality  becomes  more  and  more  ap- 
parent, and  blends  itself  so  well  with  the  spirit 
of  the  age,  that  it  seems  to  come  out  of  it  like 
a  bird  from  the  egg" 

In  the  spring  of  1825,  Felix  went  to  Paris  with 
his  father  to  consult  Cherubini  as  to  making 
music  his  vocation.  Cherubini  had  long  been 
a  perfect  terror  to  the  artists  of  Paris,  and 
everyone  trembled  at  his  bitter  sarcasms. 
Halevy  had  fairly  frightened  the  new  arrivals 
by  telling  them  that  there  were  days  when 
it  was  impossible  to  extract  anything  from 
him.       To    a    young    musician    who    played    to 

*  In  E  major,  for  two  pianos  and  orchestra.     This  work,  like 
the  former  one  in  A  flat,  still  rema'^    in  manuscript. 


i 


him,  he  said  :  ''  Do  you  perhaps  paint  well  ? " 
and  to  another  :  ''  Vous  ne  ferez  jamais  rien !  '^ 
When  Halevy  showed  him  anything  of  his  own 
it  was  a  sure  sign  of  its  being  especially 
good  if  Cherubini  said  nothing  and  made  no 
faces.  Once,  and  once  only,  when  Halevy 
had  played  his  opera  "La  Juive"  to  him,  did 
the  spiteful  old  Maestro  deign  a  remark : 
'*  C'est  bien,  mais  c'est  trop  long ;  il  faut 
couper.'* 

Felix  had  just  finished  his  B  minor  quartett 
for  piano  and  strings,  and  intended  to  dedi- 
cate it  to  Goethe.  It  is  easy  to  imagine  the 
excitement  of  the  Parisians  when,  after  a  very 
poor  performance  by  French  artists,  Cherubini 
went  up  to  Felix  smiling  and  nodding.  He 
then  turned  to  the  bystanders  and  said :  "  Ce 
gar^on  est  riche ;  il  fera  bien;  il  fait  meme 
deja  bien,  mais  il  d^pense  trop  de  son  argent, 
il  met  trop  d'etoffe  dans  son  habit.''  Every- 
one  declared    that    such    a    thing   was    unheard 


44 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1825 


of,  especially  as  Cherubini  afterwards  added, 
"Je  lui  parlerai,  alors  il  fera  bien/'  Halevy 
was  not  present  at  the  time,  and  absolutely 
refused  to  believe  that  Cherubini  could  have 
so  spoken  to  a  young  musician.  To  us,  how- 
ever, it  seems  natural  enough  for  one  who  had 
received  Goethe's  blessing,  not  to  be  afraid 
of  Cherubini. 

The  opinions  which  the  boy  expressed  on  the 
dreaded  Maestro  and  on  the  general  state  of 
music  in  Paris,  show  a  decided  independence 
of  mind  and  real  originality.  He  compares 
Cherubini  to  an  extinct  volcano,  still  throwing  out 
occasional  flashes  and  sparks,  but  quite  covered 
with  ashes  and  stones.  In  the  ''  Kyrie"  which  he 
wrote  for  Cherubini  during  his  stay  in  Paris,  he 
actually  ventured  to  parody  the  style  of  the 
terrible  old   Maestro  himself 

"Clever  fellow!"  says  Zelter;  ^'he  has  con- 
trived to  compose  the  piece  in  a  style  which, 
though  possibly  not  the  right  one,  is  just  the  one 

« 


17TH  year] 


DISAPPOINTED   WITH    PARIS. 


45 


which    Cherubini  was  groping   after,   and,  unless 
I  am  mistaken,  has  not  found." 

Felix  felt  in  his  heart  that  his  vocation  was  to 
be  a  German  artist ;  and  the  conviction  made  him 
shrink  from  the  excitement  of  Paris,  and  blame 
the  want  of  serious  musical  feeling  and  of  true 
enthusiasm  for  the  art,  which  prevailed  among 
the  French  musicians. 

''  I  had  hoped,''  says  he,  ''  to  find  this  the  native 
home  of  music,  musicians,  and  musical  taste ;  but, 
upon  my  word,  it  is  nothing  of  the  kind.  The 
sa/ous,  though  I  did  not  expect  much  from  them, 
are  wearisome ;  people  care  only  for  trivial,  showy 
music,  and  won't  put  up  with  anything  serious  or 
solid.  The  orchestras  (I  have  heard  those 
of  the  Opera  and  the  Academie  Royale)  are 
very  good,  but  by  no  means  perfect ;  and  lastly, 
the  musicians  themselves  are  either  dried  up, 
or  else  do  nothing  but  abuse  Paris  and  the 
Parisians. 

*' At  the  concert  at  Tremont  last  Sunday  I  heard 


46 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1825 


17TH  year] 


MUSIC   AT   PARIS. 


47 


lit 


iii 


Urhahn  *  play  some  variations  on  the  viola.  He 
tunes  it  differently  to  the  usual  way,  that  is  to  say, 
f  c,  f  c.  This  is  very  effective  the  first  time  you 
hear  it,  but  still  it  is  a  bad  plan,  for  the  instru- 
ment loses  the  depth  of  the  viola  without  gaining 
the  acuteness  of  the  violin,  while  it  is  obviously 
only  available  in  F  major,  or  at  best  C  major. 
After  this  Kalkbrenner  played  a  new  sextett  of 
his  own  in  A  minor.  The  piano  has  quite  the 
leading  part,  and  the  clarinet,  cello,  and  double- 
bass  merely  accompany.     There  are  some  pretty 

*  A  friend  has  kindly  given  me  the  following  information  :  — 
"  Urhahn  was  the  principal  viola  player  at  the  Grand  Opera. 
He  was  my  godfather,  a  great  and  dear  friend  of  my  parents,  a 
profound  musician,  and  the  greatest  original  imaginable.  His 
originality  showed  itself  in  an  excess  of  piety  ;  while  playing  the 
Soli  in  the  ballet  of  the  Grand  Opdra  he  never  would  look  at  the 
ballet  dancers,  even  when  Habeneck,  the  conductor,  bade  him  do 
so  for  the  sake  of  the  ensemble.  He  was  ascetic  in  the  full  sense  of 
the  word,  and  would  for  eight  or  ten  days  live  on  radishes  and 
bread  and  butter  to  get  rid  of  inconvenient  thoughts.  His  health 
of  course  became,  worse  and  worse  by  this  hygiene,  and  he  died 
young,  of  cancer.  He  came  from  Malmedy,  near  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
but  lived  in  Paris  from  1821.  He  was  a  great  friend  of  Begas  the 
painter." —  Trafis. 


things  in  it,  but  mostly  taken  from  Hummel's 
septett,  on  which  the  piece  is  really  modelled. 
He  played  very  well,  though  with  some  unstea- 
diness, on  account  of  the  fearful  and  unbearable 
heat.  Just  before  he  began  he  turned  to 
Herz,  and  said  with  a  sweet  smile,  '  Play 
for  me,  and  I  promise  to  give  you  ten  sous.' 
But  Herz,  smilingly  stroking  his  black  beard, 
answered  with  a  smile,  *  Nay,  that  would 
not  be  agreeable  to  the  public'  '  I  beo- 
your  pardon,'  said  Kalkbrenner  with  another 
smile. 

"  Yesterday  we  were  at  the  Feydeau,  and  saw 
the  last  act  of  an  opera  of  CateFs,  called 
'  L'Aubergiste,'  and  Auber's  '  Leocadie/  The 
theatre  is  large,  cheerful,  and  pretty ;  the  orchestra 
very  good ;  and  if  the  fiddles  are  not  as  fine  as 
those  at  the  Opera  Buffa,  the  basses  and  the  wind 
and  the  ensemble  are  better;  and  the  conductor 
stands  in  the  middle.  The  singers  do  not  sing 
badly,  though  they  have  no  voices ;  their  acting 


48 


GOETHE    AND    MENDELSSOHN. 


[1825 


17TH  year] 


AUBER'S    LEOCADIE. 


49 


is    lively    and    rapid,    and    the    whole    goes    well 
together.      But  now  for  the  chief  thing,  the  com- 
position.    Of  the    first   opera  I  will  say  nothing, 
for  I  only  heard  half  of  it,  and  that  was  poor  and 
weak,    though   not   without  pretty,  light  melody ; 
but  the  celebrated  '  Leocadie,'  by  tlie  celebrated 
A  über — anything  so  miserable  you  really  cannot 
conceive.     The  story  is    taken  from  a  wretched 
novel  of  Cervantes,  wretchedly  cooked  up  into  an 
opera,  and    I   could  never  have  believed  that  so 
vulgar  and  objectionable  a  piece  should  not  only 
hold  its  ground,  but  in  a  short  time  run  through 
fifty-two    representations    before    an    audience    of 
Frenchmen,    who    really    have    nice    feeling    and 
correct  taste.      To  this   novel,  which   belongs  to 
Cervantes'  wild  period,  Auber  has  made  the  most 
miserably  tame    music.      I   don't  speak  of  there 
being   no  breadth,   no   life,  no   originality   in   the 
w^hole  opera,  and  of  its  being  patched  together  of 
alternate  reminiscences  of  Cherubini  and  Rossini  ; 
I     don't    speak    of    there    being   no   vestige    of 


seriousness    or  spark    of   passion,  no    power,   no 
fire  in  it,   nor   that  in  the  greatest  climaxes  the 
singers  have  to   make   roulades  and   shakes   and 
passages ;  but  surely  the  favourite  of  the  public, 
the    pupil    of   Cherubini,   a    man  with  grey  hair, 
might  have    been    expected    to   know  something 
about  instrumentation,  now  that  it  has  become  so 
easy   through    the    publication    of   the    scores    of 
Haydn,  Mozart,  and  Beethoven  !.     Not  even  that. 
Just    fancy    that    out    of    the    many    pieces    in 
the    whole   opera,    there    are   perhaps    three    in 
which  the  piccolo  does  not  play  the   chief  part. 
The  Overture  begins   with  a    tremolando  in   the 
strings,  but  very  soon  out  pop  the  piccolo  from 
the  garret,  and  the  bassoon  from  the  cellar,  and 
pipe  away  a  melody  between  them.      In  the  sub- 
ject of  the  Allegro  the  strings  have  the  Spanish 
accompaniment,  and    the  piccolo  toodes  another 
air  to  it.     Leocadie's  first  melancholy  air,  '  Pauvre 
Leocadie,   11   vaudrait    mieux    mourir,'  is   appro- 
priately accompanied   by  a  piccolo;    the  piccolo 


E 


so 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1825 


17TH  year] 


PARIS.     BAILLOT. 


51 


expresses  the  brother's  racre,  the  lovers  o-Hef 
the  peasant  girFs  joy— in  short,  the  whole  thing 
might  be  capitally  arranged  for  two  flutes  and  a 
jew's-harp  ad  libitum.     Oh  dear ! 

**  You  tell  me  also,  Fanny,  that  I  ought  to  set 
up  for  a  reformer,  and  teach  people  to  like 
Onslow,  Reicha,  Beethoven,  and  Sebastian  Bach. 
I  do  that  already,  as  far  as  I  can.  But  recol- 
lect, my  dear  child,  that  the  people  here  don't 
know  a  note  of  *  Fidelio,'  and  look  upon  Bach 
as  a  mere  full-bottomed  wig,  powdered  with 
nothing  but  learning. 

*'The  other  day,  at  Kalkbrenners  request,  I 
played  Bach's  organ  preludes  in  E  minor  and  A 
minor.  The  people  thought  them  both  sweetly 
pretty,  and  somebody  remarked  that  the  begin- 
ning of  the  A  minor  prelude  bore  a  striking 
resemblance  to  a  favourite  duett  of  Monsigny's 

(a    French  opera  writer)! everything   danced 

before  my  eyes. 

'*  At  Madame  Kiene's  a  few  days  ago  I  played 


\x       I 


II 


my    B   minor    quartett    with    Baillot.      He  began 
quite  in  a  careless,  indifferent  sort  of  way,  but  at  a 
passage  in  the  first  part  of  the  first  movement  he 
got  into  the  spirit  of  the  thing,  and  played  the  rest 
of  the  movement  and  the  Adagio  very  well  and 
with  plenty  of  vigour.     Then  came  the  Scherzo : 
I  suppose  the  opening  of  it  pleased  him,  for  he 
went  off  like  anything,  at  a  tremendous  pace,  the 
others  after  him,  I  trying  to  keep  them  back ;  but 
it's  not    much  good    trying  to   keep    back    three 
runaway  Frenchmen.     And  so   they  carried  me 
along  with  them,  always  madder  and  madder  and 
faster  and  louder ;    and    especially  at    one    place 
near  the  end,  where  the  subject  of  the  Trio  comes 
at  the  top,  against  the  beat,  Baillot  lashed  away 
in  the  most  furious  style,  in  a  rage  with  himself 
because  he   had  made  the  same  mistake  several 
times  over.    When  it  was  finished,  all  that  he  said 
to  me  was,  '  Encore  une  fois  ce  morceau.'     That 
time  it  went  smoothly,  but  still  more  madly  than  the 
first  time.     The  last  movement  at  first  went  like 


E  2 


52 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1825 


17TH  year] 


MUSIC   AT   PARIS. 


53 


wildfire.     At  that  part  near  the  end    where  the 
subject  comes   in  for   the  last  time   in   B   minor, 
quite    fo7^tissiino,     Baillot    sawed     away    at    his 
strings  in  a  perfect  frenzy,  so  that  I  was  almost 
frightened  at  my  own  quartett ;  and  at  the  end, 
he  came  up   to  me,   again  without  a  word,   and 
embraced  me  twice  as  if  he  wanted  to  stifle  me. 
Rode    also     was     very    much     pleased,    and     a 
long   while    afterwards,  suddenly  said   to    me   in 
German  :    '  Bravo,  mein    Schatz ! '  .   .  .  .  Fanny, 
you  write  to  me  of  prejudices  and  partiality,  of 
growling  and    owlishness,  and    of  the  land   flow- 
ing with  milk  and  honey— as  you  call  this  Paris. 
Just  reflect,   I  beseech  you,  are  you  in  Paris,  or 
am  I  ?     Surely  I  must  know  more  about  it  than 
you.     Is   it  my  way  to  let  myself  be  hampered 
by  prejudices  in  my  judgment  of  music  .^     And 
even  if  it  were,  is  Rode  prejudiced  when  he  says, 
'  Cest  une  degringolade  musicale  'i  '    Is  Neukomm 
prejudiced  when  he  says,  'Cest  pas  ici  le  pays  des 
orchestres  ? '     Is  Herz  prejudiced  when  he  says, 


i 


*  The  public  here  can  understand  and  appreciate 
nothing   but   variations '  ?  and   are   thousands    of 
others    prejudiced   when   they   swear   at    Paris  '^. 
It  is  you  who  are  so  prejudiced  that  you  believe 
my  impartial  statements  less  than  the  lovely  pic- 
ture of  an  Eldorado  Paris  that  your  own  fancy 
has  drawn.     Take  up  the  Co7istitutionnel,   what 
are    they   giving    at    the    Italian    opera    besides 
Rossini  ?     Take    up   a    music-catalogue,  what  is 
published  or  sold  but  romances  and  potpourris  ? 
Wait     till     you     have     been     here     and     heard 
'  Alceste,'    '  Robin    de    Bois,'    and    the    soirees ; 
or  till    you  have  heard  the  music  in  the   King's 
Chapel,  and  then  judge  and  scold,  but  not  now 
when    you    are   hampered  and   regularly  blinded 
by  prejudices.     But  forgive  me  for  this  Allegro 
fej'oce. 

''  I  have  been  busy  these  last  days  making  a 
Kyrie  ä  5  voce  and  grandissimo  orchestra :  in 
bulk  it  surpasses  anything  I  have  yet  written. 
There  is  also  a  tolerable  amount  oi  pizzicato  in 


»      ) 


54 


GOETHE  AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1825 


17TH  year] 


LETTER  FROM   GOETHE. 


55 


it,    and    as    for    the    trombones,    they    will    need 
good  windpipes.''  * 

This  is  a  characteristic  account  of  French 
musical  life.  It  shows  what  a  strictly  artistic 
tendency  the  young  musician  had  already  de- 
veloped at  the  early  age  of  sixteen,  and  how 
unhesitatingly,  in  the  very  spirit  of  Goethe,  he 
passed  sentence  on  those  who  looked  upon  music 
as  a  mere  trade. 

Felix  remained  in  Paris  from  the  23rd  of 
March  till  the  19th  of  May  ;  on  the  journey  home 
he  stopped  at  Weimar  for  a  short  visit,  of  which 
Goethe  gives  Zelter  the  following  account : — 
"  Herr  Mendelssohn  stayed  far  too  short  a 
time  on  his  way  home.  Felix  produced  his 
last  new  quartett,  and  astonished  everyone 
with  it.  This  personal  and  definite  dedication 
through  the  ear  pleased  me  very  much. 
Felix    told   the   ladies   some    things    about    the 

*  Letters  to  his  parents  of  the  i8th  and  22nd  April,  1825. 


'1: 


^i 


t 


Parisian  musical  life,  which  were  very  character- 
istic of  the  present  time.'' 

As  an  acknowledgment  for  the  Dedication  of 
the  B  minor  quartett,  Goethe  soon  after  this 
sent  his  young  friend  what  Zelter  calls  a 
''beautiful  love-letter."     It  ran  as  follows: — 

*'  You  have  given  me  very  great  pleasure, 
my  dear  Felix,  by  your  valuable  present ;  which, 
though  already  announced,  took  me  by  surprise. 
The  print,  the  title-page,  and  the  splendid 
binding,  all  vie  with  each  other  to  make  it  a 
magnificent  gift.  I  regard  it  as  the  graceful  em- 
bodiment of  that  beautiful,  rich,  energetic  soul 
which  so  astonished  me  when  you  first  made  me 
acquainted  with  it.  Pray  accept  my  very  best 
thanks,  and  let  me  hope  that  you  will  soon 
give  me  another  opportunity  of  admiring  in 
person  the  fruits  of  your  astonishing  activity. 
Remember  me  to  your  good  parents,  your 
equally  gifted  sister,   and  your  excellent  master. 


i 


;l 


56 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1825 


May   a   lively   remembrance    of    me    always    be 
maintained  in  such  a  circle. 


''Yours  faithfully, 
*'J.  W.  Goethe. 


"Weimar,  iZth  June,  1825." 


'Goethe's  kindly  sympathy  urged  on  the  young 
artist  to  fresh  and   unceasing  efforts.      He   com- 
pleted    his    fifth*    opera,     and     composed     his 
Octett.t      ''  He  takes  his  time   by  the  ears,  and 
has     his     own     way     with     it,"     writes     Zelter. 
''A  few  weeks  ago  he  gave  his  excellent  tutor 
Heyse     a     most    pleasant     birthday    present  — 
-namely,    Terence's   'Andria'    translated    entirely 
by   himself  in    metre;    and   it   seems   that  there 
are  some  very  good  lines    in  it,  but  I   have  not 
yet   seen  it.     He  plays  the  piano  like  fury,  and 
isn't    backward    at     stringed     instruments;     and 


*"Die   Hochzeit   des  Camacho:    Comic  Opera  in  two  Acts" 
(Op.  10). 

t  The  well-known  Octett  for  strings  in  E  flat  (Op.  20). 


17TH  year] 


FELIX  AND  THE   CRITICS. 


57 


with  all    that    he    is    strong    and   healthy,    and 
can  swim  against  the  stream  like  anything. 

**  They  have  reviewed  his  quartetts  and  sym- 
phonies somewhat  coldly  in  the  musical  paper, 
but  it  won't  hurt  him ;  for  these  reviewers  are 
themselves  but  young  fellows  looking  for  the 
very  hat  they  hold  in  their  hands. 

**  If  one  did  not  remember  how  Gluck  and 
Mozart  were  criticised  forty  years  ago,  one  might 
lose  heart.  Things  that  are  completely  above 
the  heads  of  these  gentlemen,  they  cut  up 
as  coolly  as  possible,  and  fancy  they  can 
judge  the  whole  house  by  one  brick.  And 
what  I  especially  give  him  credit  for,  is  the 
way  in  which  he  works  at  everything  as  a 
whole  and  with  his  whole  might ;  and  finishes 
whatever  he  begins,  let  it  turn  out  as  it 
will ;  and  he  therefore  seldom  shows  any 
special  affection  for  the  finished  things.  Of 
course  one  now  and  then  finds  a  litde  hetero- 
geneous   material,   but  it   gets    carried  away  by 


■^,1**      iiM,  «►»  -■rtlvti'    ^i 


"4,-,.       V    f».  ^^     ,1...       -,  w-i> -r^.*»«  4*^ 


4 


58 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1827 


19TH  YEAR]  MATRICULATES   AT  BERLIN. 


59 


the  stream,  and  ordinary  faults  and  weaknesses 
are  rare."  * 

"  Now  I  must  beg  you,"  writes  Goethe  to 
Zelter  after  Felix  had  sent  him  his  ''  Andria," 
"  to  be  so  good  as  to  give  my  best  thanks  to 
the  excellent  and  industrious  Felix  for  this 
glorious  specimen  of  his  serious  aesthetic 
studies ;  his  work  will  be  a  special  amusement 
for  the  circle  of  art-lovers  at  Weimar  during 
the  coming  long  winter  evenings/' 

On  the  20th  February,  1827,  Zelter  continues 
his  report  as  follows  : — **  My  Felix  has  accepted 
an  engagement  at  Stettin  to  perform  his  latest 
works  there,  and  set  off  on  the  i6th.  The  dear 
boy  attained  his  nineteenth  year  on  the  3rd 
of  this  month,  and  his  productions  gain  in  ripe- 
ness and  originality.  His  last  opera,  which 
occupies  a  whole  evening,  has  been  promised 
at  the  Theatre  Royal  for  more  than  a  year,  but 

*  Letter  of  the  6th  November,  1825. 


has   not  yet  managed  to  see  the  light;  whereas 
all    manner   of  French   trash   and   rubbish   eets 
put  on  the  boards,  and  hardly  survives  a  second 
representation.     As    we   are  young   and  able  to 
stand   against   all    the  prejudices  which  embitter 
the    best    part    of    the    lives    of    so    many    other 
people,  it   cannot  do  us  much  harm;    but  I    do 
wish  that  with  all  his  industry  he  may  as  quickly 
as   possible   grow  out  of  this   time   of  ours,   for 
one  has  to   be    civil    to   it,   whether  one  likes   it 
or   not;    and    in    this    I    could    still    be    of    use 
to    him,  by    making    him    lean    more    and    more 
on  himself" 

In  the  summer  of  1827,  Felix  matriculated 
at  the  Berlin  University,  and  attended  the  lec- 
tures of  Gans,  Ritter,  Lichtenstein,  and  Hegel. 
''  Hegel,"  says  Zelter,  ''  is  just  giving  a  course 
of  lectures  on  music;  Felix  writes  them  out 
thoroughly  well,  but,  like  a  rogue,  manages  to 
introduce  all  Hegel's  personal  peculiarities  in 
the  most  naive  manner. 


.1 


6o 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1829 


2 1  ST   year] 


GOETHE'S   ANXIETY 


61 


''  This  Hegel  says  :  *  There  is  no  real  music 
now ;  we  have  advanced,  but  we  are  not  near 
the  right  thing  by  a  long  way/ — We  know 
that  as  much  or  as  little  as  he  does,  if 
he  could  only  demonstrate  to  us  musically 
whether  he  himself  is  on  the  nVht  road.  And 
so  meanwhile  we  will  go  steadily  onwards,  piano 
and  sano,  as  prompted  by  God  whom  we  all 
serve.  For  we  don't  know  what  we  oucrht 
to  pray  for,  and  always  want  more,  and  so 
others  may  do  the  same." 

It  was  with  the  most  lively  interest  that 
Goethe  watched  the  process  of  development 
which  Zelter  describes  in  this  original  style. 
When  he  heard  how  Bach's  eieantic  '*  Passion " 
had  been  performed  under  the  direction  of 
FeHx  on  the  nth  March,  1829,  after  lying 
neglected  for  nearly  a  hundred  years,  he  wrote 
to  his  friend  :  *'  It  is  just  as  if  I  heard  the 
roaring  of  the  sea  (rom  a  distance.  I  wish  you 
joy  of  so    complete  a   success  in   that  which  is 


almost  beyond  achievement.  I  rejoice  with  all 
my  heart  in  the  satisfaction  that  Felix  gives 
you  :  amongst  my  many  pupils,  I  have  not 
been  so  fortunate  with  more  than  a  very  few." 

After  Felix's  accident  during  his  journey  in 
England  in  the  summer  of  1829,  when  he  was 
thrown  out  of  a  carriage  and  hurt  his  knee, 
Goethe  made  many  anxious  inquiries  after  him 
in  his  letters  to  Zelter:  ''Above  all,  I  want  to 
know  if  there  is  favourable  news  of  the  good 
Felix.  I  feel  the  greatest  interest  in  him,  for  it 
is  most  vexatious  to  see  one  who  has  turned 
out  so  remarkable,  endangered  by  a  tiresome 
accident,  in  the  midst  of  progress  and  activity. 
Pray  give  me  some  consolation." 

In  the  spring  of  1830,  when  Felix  had  grown 
from  a  young  man  into  a  matured  artist,  he  had 
again  the  satisfaction  of  beholding  the  face  of 
the  immortal  master. 

In    Zelters  opinion  the  atmosphere  of  Berlin 
hindered  and  cramped  the  progress  of  his  pupil. 


f  \ 


62 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1830 


2 2ND   year] 


AT  WEIMAR  AGAIN. 


63 


He  ** feared,"  as  he  expressed  himself,  ''to  see 
him    dissolve    on   the    spot,    like    a  jelly,   in    the 
midst    of   the   pernicious   and  idle   family   tittle- 
tattle    of    the    place.       I   can    hardly    await    the 
time  when  the  boy  will   be   out  of  reach  of  all 
the  confounded  musical  trash  of  Berlin,  and  get 
to   Italy,  where,  to  my  mind,  he  ought  to  have 
gone   long   ago.       There    the    very  stones   have 
ears,  while  here  they  eat  lentils  and  pig's  ears." 
In  his  rough  way  the   old   Professor   had    hit 
the    right    nail    on  the  head  ;    for  surely  it  is    a 
blessing  for  any  ardent  nature  to  be  able  at  the 
outset  of  life  to  shake  off  the  restraint  of  home 
and  see  the  world. 

However  hard  the  parting  from  their  son 
might  prove,  his  parents  knew  very  well  that 
the  separation  would  be  of  real  benefit  to  him, 
and  it  was  determined  that  Felix  should  under- 
take a  long  journey.  Before  going  to  the  birth- 
place of  art,  he  was  to  seek  the  Poet's  blessino 
on  his  visit  to  Rome      "  I  have  said  nothing  to 


my  belongings,"  wrote  Goethe  when  Zelter  an- 
nounced the  approaching  visit,  "so  that  their 
delight  at  seeing  Felix  again  may  be  heightened 
by  the  surprise;"  and  on  the  21st  of  April, 
1830,  when  the  expected  visitor  was  detained 
by  an  attack  of  measles,  he  asks  :  "  How  is  it 
about  Felix?  Has  he  recovered,  and  are  we 
sooil  to  be  rejoiced  by  his  presence?" 

When     Felix     arrived     at    Weimar    in     the 
end    of  May,  he    found    Goethe    outwardly   un- 
changed,   though    at    first    somewhat   silent   and 
apathetic.      "I    think    he    wanted    to    see    how 
I  should  take  it;  and  I   was   vexed   because    I 
thought  he  had  really  become  so.     But  luckily 
the     conversation    turned    upon    the     Women's 
Societies   of  Weimar,  and    the    '  Chaos,'   an    ex- 
travagant paper  which  the  ladies  publish  among 
themselves,   and   to  which    I   have  ventured    to 
become    a    contributor;    and    then   old    Goethe 
suddenly  began   to  get  jovial,  and  to  chaff  the 
two   ladies  about  charitable  doings,  and  would- 


64 


GOETHE   AND  IVIENDELSSOHN. 


[1830 


be  intellectualism  and  subscriptions,  and  sick- 
nursing,  which  he  seems  particularly  to  detest ; 
he  called  me  to  join  in  the  attack,  and  as  I 
didn't  wait  to  be  asked  twice  he  soon  became' 
quite  his  old  self,  and  even  more  kind  and  con- 
fidential than  he  used  to  be  with  me.  He 
stormed  away  at  the  universal  sentimentality 
and  melancholy  of  young  men,  reviled  the  ex- 
hibitions, and  sales  of  work  for  the  distressed, 
where  the  Weimar  ladies  had  stalls,  and  nothing 
could  be  got  because  the  young  men  settled  it 
all  beforehand  amongst  themselves,  and  the 
thmgs  were  hidden  till  the  right  buyers  came. 
After  dinner,  all  at  once  he  began  '  Gute 
Kinder — hübsche  Kinder,  muss  immer  lustig 
sein  —  tolles  Volk/  making  eyes  all  the  time 
like  an  old  lion  when  he  wants  to  go  to  sleep. 
Then  I  had  to  play  to  him,  and  he  observed 
how  strange  it  was  that  he  had  heard  no  music 
for  so  long  a  time,  and  meanwhile  we  had 
always   been  advancing,  while  he  knew  nothing 


,22 ND   year] 


GOETHE'S   WELCOME. 


65 


of  it;  and  so  I  ought  to  tell  him  a  great  deal 
about  it  all,  for  '  we  must  once  more  have  a 
sensible  talk  together.'  .  .  . 

'*As  I  had  asked  Goethe  to  call  me  'Du/  he 
sent    me    word    by    Ottilie    that    in    that  case    I 
must  stay  more  than  two  days,  or  else  he  could 
not   get    into   the    way  of   it    again.     And    then 
he  repeated  the  same  thing  to  me  himself,  and 
said  I  shouldn't  miss  anything  if  I  stayed  a  little 
longer,  and  invited  me  to  come  to  dinner  every 
day,  unless   I  wanted  to  go  anywhere  else  ;  and 
as  I  have  now  been  there  every  day,  and  yester- 
day   had    to    tell    him    all    about    Scotland,    and 
Hengstenberg,  and  Spontini,  and  Hegel's  Esthe- 
tics,— and    as    he     sent    me    to    Tiefurth    with 
the   ladies,  forbidding  me,  however,  to  go  on  to 
Berka,  because  there  was  a  beautiful  girl  living 
there,  and  he    did    not  wish   to    plunge  me  into 
misery,— and  as    I  felt  that   this   was    the   very 
Goethe   of    whom    people   will    one  day  declare 
that  he  is  not  at  all  one  person,  but  is  made  up 

F 


66 


GOETHE   AND    MENDELSSOHN. 


[1830 


of    several    smaller    Goethes 1   should    have 

been   very  foolish  indeed   if  I    had  grudged   the 
time." 

And  so  the  old  merry  life  which  they  had 
led  in  the  autumn  of  1821  was  beo-un  ao-ain  • 
they  made  music,  and  wrote  doggrel  rhymes, 
and  when  the  old  gentleman  had  gone  to  his 
room  at  nine  o'clock,  they  danced,  and  never 
thought  of  separating  before  midnight. 

Goethe  commissioned  a  painter  to  make  a 
portrait  of  the  young  artist  for  a  collection  of 
his  friends'  likenesses  which  he  had  for  some 
time  been  making.  Every  morning  he  had  a 
music  lesson.  This  consisted  in  Felix's  playing 
to  him  for  an  hour,  pieces  by  all  the  great  com- 
posers in  chronological  order,  and  then  explain- 
ing what  each  had  done  to  further  the  art.  All 
the  while  he  would  sit  in  a  dark  corner,  ''  like  a 
Jupiter  Tonans,  with  his  old  eyes  flashino- 
fire."  At  first  he  would  not  venture  upon 
Beethoven  at  all.     But  when  Felix  declared  he 


22ND  YEAR]  GOETHE'S  MUSIC-LESSONS. 


67 


could  not  help  it,  and  played  the  first  move- 
ment of  the  C  minor  Symphony,  he  remarked, 
"  That  causes  no  emotion ;  it  is  only  astonishing 
and  grandiose ;  "  and  then,  again,  after  muttering 
away  to  himself,  he  observed,  **  That  is  very 
grand,  quite  wild,  enough  to  bring  the  house 
about  one's  ears;  and  what  must  it  be  when 
all  the  people  are  playing  at  once!" 

After    dinner    he   would    remain    alone    in    the 
room  with  his  young  friend  for  an  hour,  talking 
uninterruptedly.      He  brought  out  engravings  and 
explained    them,    and    talked    about    "  Hernani " 
and   Lamartines    Elegies,   and    the    theatre,    and 
pretty  girls ;  and  although  he  generally  saw  but 
little   company,  he    now  again  invited  people   to 
come  and  hear  Felix  play,  and  openly  expressed 
his   admiration   before   them    with    his    favourite 
word,  ''Ganz  stupend ! "     Then  he  got  together 
the    beauties    of    Weimar,    and    exhorted    him 
to  pay  court  to  them  :     ''  My  dear   fellow,  you 
must    go    to    the   women    and     make    yourself 


F  2 


68 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1830 


very  sweet  to  them."  When  Ottilie  asked 
whether  FeHx  did  not  come  too  often,  he 
grumbled  out  :  ''  Why,  I  am  only  just  begin- 
ning to  have  proper  talks  with  him,  and  he  is 
so  clear-headed  about  his  own  subjects,  that  I 
must  learn  a  great  deal  from  him."  He  would 
not  hear  of  his  departure,  and  drew  Ottilie 
aside  from  the  company  to  a  window  to  say 
to  her,  ''  You  must  manage  to  make  him 
stay  ; "  and  when  her  persuasions  had  failed,  he 
came  out  into  the  garden  himself  to  add  his 
own,  and  to  assure  Felix  that  there  was  no 
hurry  for  him  to  go,  that  he  had  much 
more  to  tell  him,  and  in  return  wanted  to  hear 
a  great  deal  more  music ;  that  Weimar  was  really 
the  aim  of  his  young  friend's  journey,  and  that 
it  was  impossible  to  imagine  what  he  could  wish 
for  here  that  he  would  find  at  the  ^ad/es  d'Mte. 
Ottilie  and  Ulrike  helped,  and  reminded  him  how 
the  old  gentleman  never  pressed  people  to  stay, 
but  so   much    oftener   obliged   them  to  go,   and 


'\ 


22ND  YEAR] 


A    CONVERSATION. 


(") 


how  it  fell  to  nobody's  lot  to  have  their  share 
of  happy  days  so  fixed  that  they  might  throw 
away   the    certainty   of    any;    .  .  .  adding    that 
they    would    accompany    him    to    Jena.       Who 
could      have      resisted      such     representations? 
Felix    remained,   and   had   every  reason  not   to 
repent  of  his  decision ;   he  speaks  of  the  follow- 
ing day,  the   ist  of  June,  as  the  most  delightful 
which  he  had  ever  spent   there;    he  tells  how, 
after  driving  through  the  park,  he  found  the  old 
gentleman  in  the  best  of  humours,  and  how  he 
began  talking,  and  got  into  one  of  those  conver- 
sations which   one   never  forgets   all   one's   life. 
Goethe  set   out   with   rallying  his  young  friend 
about  his  various  passions,  great  and  small,  for  the 
beauties  of  Weimar.     "Jenny  von  Pappenheim," 
he  said,"-  "is  as  beautiful,  as  uncon.sciously  graceful 
and  charming,  as  a  piece  of  phosphorescent  wood 
or   a   glow-worm    by   daylight,    which  one    can't 

*  The  foUoiving  is  from  my  .'ather's  unpublished  diary. 


70 


GOETHE  AXD  MENDELSSOHN. 


[1830 


22ND   YEAR] 


SCOTT.     SCHILLER. 


71 


see."     Two  other  girls,  the  Spiegels,  "gave  one 
the    feeh-ng    of   looking   at   a    couple    of   great 

rose-bushes I    had    a    monstrous    one    in 

my   garden   which  blossomed    magnificently,   but 
when  these  girls  stood  in  front  of  it,  one  could 

see   nothing   but  them." Then  he  got  to 

talking  about  the  "  Muette  de  Portici,"  the 
Englishman  Stendhal,*  and  Walter  Scott.  "  Mr. 
Stendhal  is  one  of  the  mediocre  sort ;  he  is  in- 
telligent and  has  a  certain  amount  of  know- 
ledge, but  the  best  and  highest  he  has  not  got. 
'  VVaverley '  is  Scott's  best  novel,  and  contains  all 

•Stendhal  was  a  Frenchman,  whose  real  name  was  Marie-Henri 
Beyle,  that  of  Stendhal  being  adopted  as  a  ,wm  de piumc.     He  was 
born  at  Grenoble  in   ,783,  subsequently  became  attached  to  the 
household  of  Napoleon  I.,  and  followed  the  French  army  in  the 
campaigns  of  ,8.2-,4.    After  ,814  he  resided  at  MUan,  and  devoted 
h^self  to  hterature.     His  chief  writings  are  biographies  of  Haydn 
and  Mozart   (which  he  translated  literally  from  the  "  Haydine  " 
of    Carpani,  and   published   without   acknowledgment   under    the 
name  of  Bombet),  of  Metastasio  and  Rossini  ,•  a  History  of  Paint- 
mg   m  Italy,   essays,  romances,  S:c.     His  writings  display  great 
ongmahty   and    a    superior    mind,   though    his   inaccuracies  are 
tiequent,  and  his  opinions  often  startling.— 7>ff«j-. 


\ 


his  succeeding  works ;   without  being  brilliant,  it 
is    sufficiently    interesting ;  — so    is    'The    Fair 
Maid    of    Perth.'     It    is    amusing    to    see    how 
Scott    always    styles    himself    the    'Author    of 
Waverley.'     Iffland  began  just  in  the  same  way 
with    his  'Jägern,'  which   contains  all    his   good 
and  bad  points ;   and  so  did  Kotzebue  with  his 
'  Menschenhass    und    Reue/   which    to    this    day 
makes     all     the    women     cry     their     eyes     out, 
though    a    man    would    only    scratch    his    head 
over  it." 

"Schiller,"   observed  Felix,  "at   any  rate  did 
not  begin  in  that  manner." 

"  Schiller,"  continued  Goethe,  "  was  obliged  to 
make  a  complete  change  after  '  Don  Carlos,'  he 
could  not  have  gone  on  in  that  style ;  thou  Hi 
even  at  the  present  day  people  are  fond  of 
seeing  '  The  Robbers,'  because  many  of  them  are 
still  in  that  same  insane  and  ridiculous  state  of 
mind.  When  I  was  director  of  the  theatre  at 
Lauchstedt,  the  students  begged  me  to  give  '  The 


72 


GOETHE  AND  MENDELSSOHN. 


[i8jo 


Robbers/  but  I  declined  for  fear  of  a  disturb- 
ance ;  however,  as  they  promised  me  on  their 
honour  to  keep  quiet,  I  said  :  '  You  are 
deHghtful,  charming  people,  and  if  you  will  be 
very  orderly  you  shall  have  it/  The  house 
was  immensely  full,  the  public  quiet  as  mice, 
even  *  Ein  freies  Leben '  was  sung  with  the 
greatest  gravity ;  and  as  they  had  behaved  so 
well,  and  had  also  brought  in  some  money,  I 
was  able  the  next  day  to  praise  them. 

*'  Schiller  understood  what  I  never  could  do 
— namely,  how  to  introduce  matters  of  fact  into 
his  works ;  while  he  was  writing  *  Tell,*  he  read 
Swiss  history,  and  had  maps  and  drawings  and 
the  like  hanging  up  in  his  room.  There  was 
something  terrific  in  his  progress ;  if  you  had 
not  seen  him  for  a  week,  you  found  him 
quite  changed,  and  did  not  know  what  to  make 
of  him  for  astonishment.  He  went  forward 
unceasingly  till  his  forty-sixth  year,  and  then 
came  the  end.      He   could   have   produced    two 


] 


1 


t 


22ND  YEAR]    SCHHXER  AND   THE  GRAND  DUKE. 


73 


tragedies  every  year;  but  not  more,  excepting 
translations  and  contributions  to  the  Musen- 
Almaiiach,  and  so  forth.  A  hundred  carolifis 
are  not  to  be  despised,  and  he  needed  them 
for  himself  and  his  wife.  He  had  asked  the 
Duke  for  a  moderate  salary,  on  the  agree- 
ment that  it  should  be  doubled  as  soon  as  he 
was  unfit  for  work ;  and  the  Duke  gave  it  very 
willingly,  for  he  was  rather  covetous  of  great 
men,  and  in  such  matters  did  more  in  Weimar 
than  any  king." 

"He  was  rewarded  for  it,''  observed  Felix. 

"Yes,"  said  Goethe,  ''he  cannot  be  removed 
from  the  place  which  he  now  occupies  in  the 
world's  history.  He  wanted  to  secure  Schuck- 
mann,  and  I  corresponded  with  him  about  it ;  and 
Schlosser  also,  but  I  dissuaded  him  from  that, 
because  Schlosser  was  too  unbending  and  im- 
movable on  his  standpoint,  as  well  as  somewhat 
pedantic ;  he  was  my  brother-in-law,  so  you  see 
I    did   not    show   much   tendency   to    nepotism. 


I 


74 


GOETHE  AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1830 


And  so  this  place  became  a  sort  of  general 
focus.  Oh  if  I  could  but  write  a  fourth  volume 
of  my  life !  but  there's  no  getting  at  it,  what 
with  botany,  and  meteorology,  and  all  the  other 
foolish  things  that  no  one  will  ever  thank  me 
for.  It  would  be  such  a  history  of  the  year 
1775,  as  nobody  could  know  or  write  as  I 
could.  How  at  that  time  the  nobility  began  to 
feel  Itself  rather  eclipsed  by  the  middle  class, 
and  had  to  make  exertions  so  as  not  to  be  left 
behind ;  how  Liberalism,  Jacobinism,  and  all 
other  inventions  of  the  evil  one  cropped  up ;  how 
one  began  a  new  life  here,  working  and  produc- 
ing, and  occasionally  at  the  right  moment  falling 
in  love.,  and  thereby  disturbing  one's  peace  of 
mind;  and  how  the  aristocratical  spirit  of  Nicolai 
and  the  other  Berliners,  which  was  thought  a 
good  deal  of  at  that  time,  had  to  be  taken 
down  by  us  young  men — for,  in  spite  of  all  our 
awkwardness,  we  had  plenty  of  spirit  and 
energy;    then  there  was   Schiller's  first  visit   to 


22ND  YEAR]       GOETHE   AND  THE  YEAR    1775. 


75 


Weimar,  when  he  left  it  without  being  noticed 
by  anyone ;  and  then  came  Jean  Paul,  but 
found  the  circle  already  closed ;  and  after 
him  Bertuch,  who  was  bent  upon  being  prac- 
tical, and  tried  to  produce  everything  that 
could  possibly  be  wanted,  and  ended  by  found- 
ing the  *  Indiish'ie-komptoir ' !  Yes,  that  time 
was  like  the  spring,  when  everything  is  burst- 
ing into  life,  and  one  tree  stands  bare,  while 
another    is    already    in    full    leaf.       So     it    was 

in   1775!" 

The  young  artist  listened  with  the  live- 
liest interest  to  the  ardent  words  in  which 
the  old  Poet  thus  recalled  his  youth  and 
the  intellectual  spring  of  1775.  "It  was  one 
of  those  conversations  which  one  can  never 
forget,  all  one's  life."  He  showed  plainly  how 
touched  and  delighted  he  was,  and  when  he 
thanked  Goethe,  the  latter  answered  :  "  Well, 
it's  a  mere  chance ;  it  all  came  out  quite  inci- 
dentally,   called    forth   by   the    charm    of    your 


76 


GOETHE   AND    MENDELSSOHN. 


[1830 


22ND   year] 


THE   LAST   PARTING. 


77 


presence."  Then  he  asked  for  several  of  his 
favourite  Mozart  pieces,  the  C  minor  Fantasia, 
a  Haydn  Trio,  and  a  Weber  Capriccio,  and 
promised  his  young  friend  "  something  impor- 
tant" as  a  parting  gift.  The  next  day  he  gave 
him  a  sheet  of  the  autograph  of  "Faust"  inscribed 
with  the  following  words  :  "  To  my  dear  young 
friend  F.  M.  B.,  the  powerful  and  gentle  ruler 
of  the  piano,  as  a  remembrance  of  happy  May 
days  in   1830.     J.  W.  v.  Goethe."^ 

Felix  had  mentioned  a  picture  of  Ostade's 
representing  a  peasant  family  at  prayer,  which 
had  made  a  great  impression  on  him  in  1821  ; 
and  when  he  came  into  the  Poet's  room  on  the 
morning  of  the  3rd  of  June  to  take  leave,  he 
found  Goethe  sitting  before  a  large  portfolio 
looking  at  this  very  picture.  **  Yes,  yes,"  said 
the  old  Poet  in  a  solemn  tone,  ''  the  hour 
has  come,  and  we  must  see  that  we  keep 
straight  till  your  return  ;  but  we  must  not  part 
from  one  another  without  a  moment's  devotion, 


and  so  let  us  look  at  this  '  Prayer '  together  for  a 
little  while.''  "  Then  he  told  me  that  I  was  to 
write  to  him  sometimes — (''  Courage  !  courage  ! 
I  shall  do  it  from  here,"  writes  Felix  home) — - 
and  then  he  kissed  me,  and  we  drove  off  to 
ena. 

Goethe,  in  a  letter  to  Zelter,  gives  his  own 
impression  of  the  visit  as  follows:  "Just  now, 
at  half-past  nine,  with  the  clearest  sky  and  the 
brightest  sunshine,  the  excellent  Felix,  having 
spent  a  fortnight  with  us  very  pleasantly,  and 
enchanted  everybody  by  the  perfection  and 
charm  of  his  art,  is  driving  off  with  Ottilie, 
Ulrike,  and  the  children,  to  Jena,  there  also 
to  delight  his  friends,  and  leaves  behind  him 
a  memory  which  deserves  to  be  for  ever 
cherished. 

"His  coming  did  me  a  great  deal  of  good, 
for  my  feelings  about  music  are  unchanged;  I 
hear  it  with  pleasure,  interest  and  reflection;  I 
love  its  history,  for  who  can  understand  any  sub- 


m 


I 


^  -i 


78 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1830 


ject  without  thoroughly  initiating  himself  into  its 
origin  and  progress  ?  It  is  a  great  thing  that 
Felix  fully  recognizes  the  value  of  going  through 
its  successive  stages,  and  happily  his  memory 
is  so  good  as  to  furnish  him  with  any  number 
of  examples  of  all  kinds.  From  the  Bach  period 
downwards,  he  has  brought  Haydn,  Mozart,  and 
Gluck  to  life  for  me,  has  given  me  clear  ideas 
of  the  great  modern  masters  of  technique,  and 
lastly  has  made  me  understand  his  own  produc- 
tions, and  given  me  plenty  to  think  about  in 
himself.  He  took  away  with  him  my  warmest 
blessing.'* 

Goethe  sent  another  earnest  request  to  his 
departing  guest,  through  Ottilie,  that  he  would 
write    often,    and    thus     **  revive    his     charming 

o 

presence"  amongst  them. 

In  a  letter  from  Ottilie  of  the  8th  June,  we 
read  as  follows  :  *'  We  feel  like  people  who 
don't  know  how  to  fill  up  a  blank ;  or  like 
schoolboys,     who     find     everything     excessively 


22ND  YEAR]        GOETHE'S    REGRETS.     MUNICH. 


79 


dull  after  the  holidays  :  in  these  descriptions  I 
include  my  papa.  You  see,  dear  Felix,  what  an 
advantage  you  have  over  us  ?  If  you  feel  a  re- 
action and  are  tempted  to  grumble,  I  am  sure  you 
only  do  it  in  the  most  touching  sounds,  whilst 
ours  buzz  round  our  heads  like  bats,  and  don't 
exactly  make  us  pleasanter.  My  father  sends 
you  word  that  your  stay  here,  besides  giving 
him  great  pleasure,  was  of  lasting  use  to  him, 
as  you  have  made  him  understand  so  many 
thinnrs." 

At  Munich  Felix  mustered  courage  to  write 
to  Goethe  himself,  thanking  him  for  the  ever 
memorable  days  which  he  had  enjoyed,  and 
describing  the  life  in  Munich,  and  the  artists  to 
whom  the  Poet  had  given  him  introductions  : 
''Stieler  in  particular  was  wonderfully  kind  and 
amiable  to  me.  The  way  in  which  he  spoke 
of  you  and  yours,  the  beaming  delight  which 
overspread  his  whole  person  when  he  recalled 
the   time  he   had   spent  with    you,  made  me    at 


I 


8o 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1830 


22ND  YEAR]    MUSIC   AT   BERLIN   AND   MUNICH. 


81 


once  feel  specially  drawn  towards  him.  He  is 
painting  your  *  Fisher,'  and  told  me  that  the 
picture  originated  partly  in  his  dislike  to  one 
which  had  made  a  great  sensation  at  the  Berlin 
Exhibition,  and  in  which  the  subject  was 
treated  in  far  too  sensuous  a  manner.  It  may 
be  true,  but  I  don't  know  how  he  is  to  succeed 
in  entirely  avoiding  the  difficulty,  for  if  you 
are  to  have  the  figure  of  a  woman  rising  fresh 
from  the  water,  and  at  the  same  time  sineinpf 
and  speaking  in  a  lovely  way,  she  must  be 
charming,  and  the  Fisherman  to  whom  she 
beckons  must  be  a  beautiful  graceful  youth ; 
whereas  his  picture  seems  to  me  to  be  based 
on  quite  another  idea.  But  as  yet  it  is  only 
sketched-in,  and  at  any  rate  the  head  of  the 
nymph  is  already  so  graceful  and  pretty  that 
she  is  sure  to  give  universal  pleasure.  Stieler 
has  also  just  finished  a  portrait  for  the  King's 
private  collection  of  beauties,  and  is  per- 
petually   looking    about    amongst    the     Munich 


girls  for  new  models.  He  is  delighted  with 
this  commission,  and  no  wonder,  for  the  ladies 
pay  him  no  end  of  attention,  and  would  give 
anything  to  please  him  so  that  he  may  give 
them  the  prize,  and  pick  them  out  as  the  most 
beautiful. 

**  Music    is    very   much    run    after    here,    and 
there   is  plenty  of  it,  but  it  seems  to  me   that 
almost  everything  makes  an  impression  in    this 
place,   and   that    the    impression    does    not  last. 
It  is  most  amusing  to  see  the  difference  between 
a    Munich    and    a    Berlin    musical    party.       At 
Berlin,    when    a    piece    of    music   comes   to   an 
end,   the  whole  company  sits  in  solemn  silence, 
each  one  considering  what  his  opinion  is  to  be, 
nobody  giving  a   sign   of  applause   or  pleasure, 
and  all  the  while  the  performer  is  in  the  most 
pamful    embarrassment,    not    knowing    whether, 
and   in   what   spirit,   he    has    been   listened    to. 
And  yet,  afterwards,  he  often  finds  people  who' 
have  given   all   their   attention,  and   been   very 


82 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1831 


23RD  year] 


MUNICH.     ROME. 


83 


M 


deeply  moved,  though  outwardly  appearing  so 
cold  and  indifferent.  Here,  on  the  contrary,  it 
is  great  fun  playing  at  a  party,  because  the 
people  can't  help  talking  every  minute  about 
what  they  like ;  sometimes  even  they  begin 
clapping  and  applauding  in  the  middle  of  a 
piece ;  and  it  is  not  at  all  uncommon,  when  one 
gets  up  from  playing,  to  find  that  everybody 
has  moved,  because  sometimes  all  of  a  sudden 
they  want  to  come  and  watch  one's  fingers, 
and  stand  all  round  the  piano,  or  some  one 
wishes  to  make  an  observation  to  some  one 
else,  and  goes  and  sits  down  by  him  and 
talks.  Afterwards  they  overwhelm  you  with 
compliments  and  kindness ;  but  I  don't  know 
whether  I  should  not  be  afraid  that,  after  a 
day  or  two,  much  of  the  vividness  of  the 
impression  would  fade.* 

*  This  contrast  between  North  and  South  Germany  also  struck 
Schumann.  He  says  in  one  of  his  papers  {Gesammelte  Schriften^ 
iii.  233),  apropos  to  Liszt's  reception  at  Dresden,  "  do  not  know 
the  applause-thermometer  of  the  Dresden  public  well  enough  to 


"  The  Opera  is  supplied  in  the  amplest  manner, 
and  yet  does  not  produce  anything  out  of  the 
common  way,  because  there  is  no  leading  spirit 
to  direct  the  whole  thing.  Schechner,  for  ex- 
ample, is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  singers 
we  have ;  but  because  they  praise  her  good 
points  up  to  the  skies,  and  pass  over  her 
failings,  she  is  accustoming  herself,  by  degrees, 
to  all  sorts  of  mannerisms.  It  seems  moreover 
to  be  thought  bon  ton  to  abuse  the  opera  and 
the  theatre,  and  to  pay  much  attention  to  the 
critics,  who  try  to  earn  their  scanty  daily  bread 
by  scoffing  and  sneering;  this  again  discourages 
the  actors,  the  bitterness  increases  on  both 
sides,  and  thus  it  arises  that  there  is  seldom 
much  pleasure  or  real  enjoyment  to  be  had  at 
the  theatre." 

Felix's  second  letter  to  Goethe  is  dated  ''  Rome, 

judge  of  the  impression  he  produced.  Of  all  Germans  the  Viennese 
spare  their  hands  least,  and  in  their  idolatry  have  been  known  to 
clap  till  they  split  their  gloves — but  in  North  Germany  it  is  dif- 
ferent." 


G  2 


84 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1831 


23RD  year] 


BARBARISM   AT  ROME. 


85 


March  the  5th,  183 1,"  and  gives  a  Hvely  and 
amusing  sketch  of  artistic  life  in  the  Eternal 
City.  ''  A  few  German  artists  are  to  be  seen 
with  long  hair  and  moustaches,  turned  down 
collars,  old-fashioned  German  coats,  tobacco- 
pipes,  and  bull-dogs.  It  does  not  seem  as  if 
the  great  masters,  or  the  desire  to  learn,  had 
anything  to  do  with  their  coming  here.  In 
their  opinion  Raphael  is  weak,  and  Titian 
merely  a  good  colourist." 

''  Niebuhr,"  remarked  Goethe,  when  telling 
Eckermann*  about  this  letter  from  Felix,  *'was 
right  when  he  predicted  a  time  of  barbarism  ; 
it  is  here  already,  we  are  in  the  midst  of  it, 
for  in  what  else  does  barbarism  consist  but 
in  not  recognizing  what  is  really  good  ? " 

Felix  s  description  of  the  Carnival,  the  election 
of  the  new  Pope,  the  Revolution  that  broke  out 
immediately  afterwards,  the  courageous  behaviour 
of  Horace  Vernet,  and  the  pitiable  cowardice  of 

*  Conversation  of  March  22nd,  1831. 


the  German  painters,  gave  the  Poet  occasion  to 
speak   of  the    "  mental   perversion    which   origi- 
nating  forty  years    before   in  a   few  individuals 
had   now  pervaded    the   German  artists.     Their 
doctrine   was,    that    the    main    things    necessary 
to     enable     an     artist     to     equal     the    greatest, 
were    piety   and  genius.     Such   a   doctrine    was 
very   insinuating,    and    was   eagerly    caught  at; 
for    no    learning    is    necessary    to     make     one 
pious,   and   genius  everybody   inherits   from   his 
mother.       It    is   sufficient    to    utter    something 
which   flatters    self-conceit  and    indolence,  for    it 
to    be  sure   of  a   favourable  reception  with  the 
public." 

By   this  ''  mental  infection "   Felix    was  in  no 
danger  of  being  attacked. 

**  Before  I  say  anything  else,"  writes  Goethe 
to  Zelter,  "  I  must  tell  you  that  I  have  got 
a  most  charming  and  detailed  letter  from 
Felix,  dated  Rome,  March  the  5th,  giving  a 
delightful  account   of  the  excellent  fellow.     He 


86 


GOETHE   AND  MENDELSSOHN. 


[1831 


.23RD  year] 


WALPURGIS  night: 


87 


Hl 


I! 


If 


will  no  doubt  give  the  same,  in  an  equally 
modest  spirit,  to  his  parents  and  his  Berlin 
friends.*  It  is  not  necessary  to  be  anxious 
about  him  any  longer  ;  his  talents,  like  a 
beautiful  swimming-belt,  will  bear  him  safely 
even  through  the  waves  and  breakers  of  this 
alarming  barbarism." 

Thus  did  Goethes  warm  sympathy  accom- 
pany his  young  friend  on  his  wanderings.  The 
Poet  was  quite  angry  with  his  father  for  not 
allowing  him,  after  all  his  ready  compliance, 
to  extend  his  journey  to  Sicily,  as  he  wished  to 
do.  **  Italy  without  Sicily  does  not  leave  a 
complete  image  on  the  mind.  It  is  a  very 
great  .mistake  of  the  Herr  Papa  not  to  send 
our  good  Felix  to  Sicily,  for  now  he  will 
come  away  with  an  unsatisfied  longing." 

Felix  had  long  cherished  the  idea  of  com- 
posing Goethe's  ''Walpurgisnacht;"  on  leaving 
Vienna    he    had    begun     to    work    at     it,     and 

*  See  the  letters  of  March  8th,  15th,  «SlC.  in  the  "  Reisebriefe." 


managed  to  finish  it  during  his  Italian  jour- 
ney, in  spite  of  the  difficulty  of  the  subject. 
Goethe  expressed  his  approbation  and  pleasure 
on  hearing  that  his  young  friend  had  undertaken 
what  Zelter  had  attempted  in  vain,  and  in  the 
following  words  sketched  out  for  him  the  funda- 
mental ideas  of  the  poem  : — *'  The  principles  on 
which  this  poem  is  based  are  symbolic  in  the 
highest  sense  of  the  word.  For  in  the  history 
of  the  world,  it  must  continually  recur  that  an 
ancient,  tried,  established,  and  tranquillizing  order 
of  things  will  be  forced  aside,  displaced,  thwarted, 
and,  if  not  annihilated,  at  least  pent  up  within 
the  narrowest  possible  limits  by  rising  inno- 
vations. The  intermediate  period,  when  the 
opposition  of  hatred  is  still  possible  and  prac- 
ticable, is  forcibly  represented  in  this  poem,  and 
the  flames  of  a  joyful  and  undisturbed  enthusi- 
asm once  more  blaze  high  in  brilliant  light." 

During    his    return    from     Italy    Felix    gave 
a    more    lengthened    and    detailed    description 


M 


i\\ 


88 


GOETHE   AND  MENDELSSOHN. 


[1831 


23RD  year] 


SWITZERLAND. 


89 


n 


of  his  travels  in  Switzerland.  Writing  to 
Goethe  from  Lucerne  on  the  28th  of  Aueust, 
1 83 1,  he  says:*  **  I  could  not  leave  out  Switz- 
erland, which  has  always  been  my  favourite 
country.  T  shall  never  forget  this  time  that  I 
have  spent  roaming  about  the  mountains  on 
foot,  all  alone,  without  knowing  a  creature,  and 
thinking  of  nothing  but  the  new  and  wonder- 
fully beautiful  things  that  burst  upon  me  every 
moment. 

**  I  came  from  the  land  of  bright  skies  and 
warmth  ;  but  Switzerland  gave  me  a  very  differ- 
ent reception  :  I  found  rain  and  storms  and  mist, 
and  on  the  mountains  often  had  to  go  through 
snowstorms.  But  somehow  or  other,  I  rather 
liked  it;  and  occasionally,  when  the  great  black 
rocky  peaks  emerge  from  the  clouds,  or  a  whole 

*  Through  the  kindness  of  Professor  Mendelssohn,  I  am  enabled 
to  insert  the  whole  of  this  letter,  of  which  in  the  original  he 
has  only  given  portions.  The  autograph  appears  to  have  suffered 
much  bad  usage  ;  it  contains  at  present  neither  signature,  address, 
nor  date,  and  it  was  only  by  a  minute  and  careful  comparison  that 
its  date  could  be  fixed  with  certainty. — Translator, 


reach  of  country  seems  to  burst  into  sunshine 
out  of  the  midst  of  the  fog,  it  is  quite 
glorious.  No  amount  of  bad  weather  could 
stop  me  from  climbing  about  as  much  as  pos- 
sible ;  sometimes  the  guide  refused  to  go  with 
me,  often  I  could  not  see  anything  at  all,  but 
still  I  did  what  I  could,  and  when  a  fine  day 
came  at  last,  it  was  a  double  pleasure.  Here, 
Nature  seems  to  make  even  a  grander  im- 
pression on  me  than  elsewhere,  for  I  am  more 
completely  surrounded  by  her,  and  the  whole 
country  and  people  depend  entirely  and  solely 
upon  her. 

*'  You  must  have  heard  of  the  terrible  inun- 
dations and  storms  in  the  Bernese  Oberland  ; 
I  was  there  just  at  the  time,  and  it  was  awful 
to  see  how  everything  connected  with  human 
beings,  even  the  most  durable  things, — streets, 
bridges,  meadows  and  houses, — could  so  easily 
disappear  in  a  moment,  without  leaving  a  trace 
— as    if  they   had   never   existed.     Three   days 


^lii 


L 


lili 


90 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1831 


afterwards  Nature  was  all  calm  and  smiling 
again,  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  and  the 
ipeople  at  work  to  restore  order  as  far  as 
possible.  I  was  just  then  on  my  way  to  the 
lake  of  Thun,  without  a  guide,  and  quite  alone. 
Since  that  day  when  you  told  me  about  your 
observations  on  the  weather  and  on  clouds,  I 
have  taken  a  special  interest  in  the  subject, 
and  paid  more  attention  to  what  was  going  on 
above  me.  I  could  distinctly  see  the  gradual 
way  in  which  the  storm  came  on ;  the  clouds 
had  been  gathering  for  two  days,  and  at  last, 
on  the  evening  of  the  7th,  a  great  thunder- 
storm burst  forth,  and  went  on  the  whole 
night,  with  continual  rain.  In  the  morning  it 
looked  as  if  clouds  were  coming  down  in- 
stead of  rain.  I  never  saw  clouds  lie  so 
low  before ;  they  had  stationed  themselves  all 
about  round  the  bases  of  the  mountains,  far 
down  into  the  valleys,  quite  thick  and  white, 
with  overhead  nothing  but  black   mist.     It  did 


23RD  year] 


THE  STORMS. 


91 


not   rain  at  all  for  a  little  while,  till  the  lower 
clouds   began   to    float   up   and  down,  and  then 
the  rain  went  on  again  for  that  whole  day  and 
the  following  night;    but  the    actual    masses   of 
clouds    and   mist    only   collected    on    the    third 
morning,  the    9th,  and  then    the  whole  breadth 
of    the    horizon    and    the    sky   was    completely 
filled   with    them.       Storms   generally   come   up 
with  a  clear  sky  ;  but  in  this  case  the  masses  of 
clouds   piled  themselves  one  upon  another,  and 
were  driven  across  country  from   the    plains  in 
the  north-west,  right  into  the  mountains  on  the 
south-east.       It   was    impossible    to    distinguish 
the  opposite  side  of  the  lake.     In  the  intervals, 
when  one  layer  of  clouds  had  passed,  it  stopped 
raining,  but  in  another  minute  it  began  pouring 
down   out   of    the   next   one   with   indescribable 
fury.       The    footpaths  were   soon   under  water, 
streams  were  running  across  the  roads  in  every 
direction,  and  the  mountain-torrents  came   rush- 
ing   down   like  mad,  quite  dark-brown,   so    that 


■l 


i\ 


r 


M 


ill 


92 


GOETHE   AND  MENDELSSOHN. 


[1831 


they  looked  like  mere  dark  earth  boih'ng  up  out 
of  the  river-bed,  and  being  dashed  into  the  lake ; 
— you  could  see  the  dark  streams  far  out  upon 
the  clear  water.  The  smaller  bridges  had 
already  been  all  carried  off  in  the  morning,  the 
piers  and  arches  of  the  large  stone  ones  were 
also  torn  away,  and  one  forest-stream  brought 
a  lot  of  furniture  and  household  eoods  into 
the  lake  with  it,  without  anybody's  knowing 
what  houses  had  been  demolished.  Some 
days  afterwards,  when  the  rain  had  ceased, 
and  I  came  into  the  valley  of  Lauterbrunnen, 
the  broad  high  road  had  completely  vanished, 
and  the  ground  where  it  had  been  was  no- 
thing but  a  heap  of  shingle  and  sand  and 
great  blocks  of  stone,  for  fully  a  mile. 
The  same  damage  had  been  done  on  that 
day  almost  all  over  the  country,  on  the  St. 
Gothard,  at  Unterwaiden,  Glarus,  &c.  Some- 
times it  was  difficult  to  get  along,  and  one  had 
to   go   over  the   mountains,   because    the   water 


I 


23RD  YEAR]  ENGELBERG.    GOETHE'S   LAST  BIRTHDAY.   93 

left    no    room    in    the    valleys, — but    that    only 
made  it  all  the  finer  on  the  mountains. 

''  I  spent  last  week  at  Engelberg,  in  an 
Unterwald  monastery  several  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea,  perfectly  secluded,  where  I  found 
a  nice  organ  and  pleasant  monks.  They  had 
never  heard  of  Sebastian  Bach,  so  that  a  few  of 
his  fugues  on  the  organ  were  a  complete  novelty 
to  them ;  but  still  they  were  pleased,  and  on 
the  saint's  day  (St.  Bartholomew's)  I  had  to 
play  the  organ  for  them,  accompany  the  Mass, 
and  make  the  Responses.  It  was  the  first 
time  on  this  journey  that  I  had  got  hold  of 
a  decent  organ,  for  in  Italy  I  didn't  find  a 
single  one  in  good  order.  Besides  this,  the 
monks  had  a  nice  library ;  and  as  neither 
politics,  strangers,  nor  newspapers  ever  enter 
the  valley,  I  had  a  pleasant  time  of  it 
there. 

''  At  last   the  weather  cleared   up   again,  and 
to-day  it  is  as  if  Nature  herself  wanted  to  cele- 


94 


GOETHE  AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1831 


23RD  YEAR]     SCHILLER'S   TELL  AT  LUCERNE. 


95 


brate  this  great  occasion.*'^  The  sky  is  of  the 
brightest  blue,  the  mountains  have  decked 
themselves  in  their  most  brilliant  colours,  the 
landscape  looks  gay  and  festal, — all  seem  to 
know  what  an  important  day  it  is. 

''  I  have  just  come  from  the  theatre, — the 
only  one  in  all  Switzerland, — and  have  been 
hearing  Schiller's  'William  Tell.'  This  being 
the  time  of  the  Diet,  the  Swiss  depart  from 
their  custom  of  preferring  no  theatre  to  a 
bad  one.  And  as  it  is  the  only  one  in  the 
country,  you  must  allow  me  to  say  a  few 
words  about  so  national  a  performance.  The 
whole  troupe  numbers  about  ten  persons,  and 
the  stage  is  the  size  and  height  of  a  small 
room  ;  but  still  they  wanted  to  give  the 
crowded  scenes.  So  two  men  in  pointed 
hats  represented  Gessler's  army,  two  others 
in  round  hats  the  Swiss  country  people,  and 
the    subordinate    parts    were    done    away    with. 

*  Goethe's  last  birthday. 


i\ 


Whenever  there  was  anything  important  to  say, 
they  left  it  out  without  compunction,  and  coolly 
went    on    with    the    next    words    in    their   parts 
without    any   connection,    and   occasionally   with 
the   most    comic    effect.      Some    of    the   actors 
had   only  learnt    the   drift   of    their   parts,    and 
made   their  own   verses  on  the  spot;    Gessler's 
envoy,   with   the    first   beat,    knocked   the   drum 
out  of  his    button-hole    on    to  the   ground,  and 
could   not  fasten    it   on  again,  to  the  great    de- 
light   of  the   liberty-loving  public,  who    laughed 
heartily  at    the    tyrant's    slave;    but   it  was   im- 
possible    to      kill      the      piece      entirely,      and 
even  with   all   this  it  was   effective.     When   the 
familiar  names  and  places    occurred,   which    one 
had    seen     the    day    before,    the    people     were 
in   raptures,    nudging  one  another  and  pointing 
to     the     pasteboard    lake,     which     they     could 
see    far    better    in   the   reality   by    walking   out 
of  their  houses. 

''  But   it  was  Gessler   who  gave  the   greatest 


96 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[183 1 


delight,  because  he  behaved  so  uproariously, 
and  ranted  and  raged  in  such  furious  style; 
his  dishevelled  beard,  red  nose,  and  cap  all 
awry,  made  him  look  just  like  a  drunken  work- 
man ;  the  whole  thing  was  quite  Arcadian  and 
primitive,  like  the  infancy  of  the  drama." 

Before  this,  in  the  Engelberg  valley,  Felix 
had  been  regaling  himself  with  reading  ''  Tell," 
and  had  called  to  mind  Goethe's  remark  that 
*'  Schiller  could  have  produced  two  such  tragedies 
every  year."  ''  This  craftsmanlike  expression 
suddenly  struck  me  very  forcibly  when  reading 
the  play  in  all  its  freshness  and  life,  and  such 
activity  appeared  to  me  so  prodigiously  grand 
that  it  made  me  feel  as  if  I  had  never  yet 
done  anything  properly  all  my  life.  Everything 
of  mine  is  so  fragmentary,  and  I  feel  as  if  I  too 
must  some  day  produce  something." 

The  performance  at  Lucerne  must  have  re- 
called afresh  the  same  remarkable  conversation 
about  Schiller.     It  is  well  known  what  a  strong 


I 


23RD  YEAR]  GOETHE'S   PROJECTED   TELL. 


97 


attraction  the  story  had  for  Goethe,  and  how,  in 
1797,  when  excited  by  that  incomparable  land- 
scape, he  seriously  occupied  himself  with  the  idea 
of  writing   an  epic   poem  on  ''  Tell,"  though   he 
subsequently  abandoned  the  subject  to  his  friend. 
''  I  already  hummed  over  my  hexameters  at  lei- 
sure moments.*     The  subject  engrossed   me  so 
completely  that  I  could  see  the  lake  in  the  calm 
moonlight,  with  the  mists  lighting  up  the  hollows 
of    the   mountains,  as    well    as   in   the    loveliest 
morning  sunlight,  with  the  woods  and  meadows 
breaking  out  into  jubilant  life.     Then  I  brought 
m  a  thunder-storm,  sweeping  out  of  the  ravines 
upon    the    lake.      Nor   was    there   any   lack    of 
nightly  stillness,  or  of  secret  meetings  by  bridge 
and  glen." 

And  with  this  glorious  landscape  as  a  back- 
ground, what  a  contrast  do  Goethe's  characters 
present  to  Schiller's  !— his  Tell,  a  porter  wander- 
ing through   the  canton,  a  self-satisfied,   childish 

*  Conversation  with  Eckermann,  May  6th,  1827. 

H 


98 


GOETHE    AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1831 


unconscious  hero  :  his  Gessler,  a  tyrant  of  the 
comfortable  order,  who  "  does  a  good  action  noW 
and  then,  by  way  of  a  joke;^'  and  by  the  side 
of  these  more  passive  figures  the  real  characters 
of  the  liberators,  the  Flirsts,  Stauffachers,  and 
Winkelrieds  ! 

The  contrast  between  the  two  greatest  German 
poets    is   seen    in    the    characteristic   variety   of 
their  treatment  of   the  same    material.      Goethe 
afterwards     toned     down,    or     omitted,     several 
forcible    traits    which     Schiller   had    wished     to 
introduce.     "  I    know    well    the    difficulty    I    had 
with    him    about    '  Tell,'    when    he    wanted    to 
make    Gessler  pick   an  apple   straight   from   the 
tree,    and   shoot   it   off   the    boy's    head.      This 
was    quite    against    my    principles,    and    I    per- 
suaded   him    at    least   to    suggest    some    motive 
for    such    cruelty,   by   making    Tell's   son   boast 
that    his    father  was    so  good    a    marksman  that 
he    could    strike    an    apple    from    a    tree    at    a 
hundred    paces.     Schiller   did    not   at    first   take 


23RD  YEAR]  SCHILLER'S    OVER-EXERTION. 


99 


to  the  idea,  though  finally  he  yielded  to  my 
representations  and  entreaties,  and  did  what 
I  advised. '^ 

Though  it  was  with  real  pleasure,  and  no  en- 
vious feelings,  that  Goethe  watched  the  labours 
of  his    literary  friend,   he  was  clearly  conscious 
how  entirely  opposite  were  his   own   sentiments. 
How  telling,  for  example,  is  his  remark  to  Felix 
in  reference  to  Schiller's  "  terrific  progress,"  and 
that  it   was   ''impossible    for    him    to    sustain    it 
beyond    his   forty-sixth  year "  !      To    Eckermann 
he  further*"   expressed  himself  to  the   effect  that 
in    his   youth    Schiller  was   too  much  influenced 
by  physical    freedom,  and    that    in    maturer  life, 
when  he  had   had   enough   of  physical  freedom, 
he   drifted   into    ideal   freedom.     ''And    I    miVht 
almost   say  that   this   idea    killed    him.      For   it 
caused   him   to  make    demands    on    his    physical 
nature  which  were  too  much  for  his  powers. 
He  used  to  force  himself  to  work  for  days  and 

*  Conversation  of  1 8th  January,  1827. 

H  2 


ICX) 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[1832 


24TH  year] 


DEATH    OF   GOETHE. 


lOI 


weeks  when  he  was  not  well,  with  the  view 
of  making  his  powers  obey  him,  and  be  at  his 
command  at  all  times.  .   .  . 

*'  All  those  passages  in  his  writings,  which 
some  wiseacres  declare  to  be  inconsistent,  I  would 
call  '  pathological '  passages,  because  they  were 
written  on  days  when  he  had  not  the  power  to 
discover  his  real,  true  motives.  I  have  all  pos- 
sible respect  for  the  '  categorical  imperative,'  and 
know  how  much  good  may  proceed  from  it ;  but 
one  must  not  push  it  too  far,  for  then  the  idea 
of  ideal  freedom  can  lead  to  no  good."  In 
these  warnings  against  the  exaggeration  of  the 
**  categorical  imperative,"  and  this  verdict  on 
his  friend,  so  restlessly  indefatigable,  so  early 
snatched  away,  we  see  the  perfect  and  healthy 
realism  of  Goethe's  nature. 

To  Felix,  these  words  of  Goethe's  supplied  a 
fresh  spur  to  increased  activity  :  ''  There  is  an 
enormous  deal  to  do  in  the  world,"  he  writes, 
''  and    I    will    be    industrious.      To-day    I    under- 


stand for  the  first  time  what  deep  meanincr 
there  is  in  Goethe's  words  about  Schiller,  and 
feel    that   I   must  bestir  myself." 

From  Switzerland  he  travelled  by  way  of 
Munich  to  Paris,  where  he  renewed  the  im- 
pressions of  the  summer  of  1825.  '^  The  poli- 
tical life  there,"  writes  Zelter  to  Goethe,  -no 
less  than  the  artistic,  seems  only  to  strengthen 
Felix's  love  for  his  own  country." 

It  was  in  Paris  that  Felix  received  the  news 
of  the  death*  of  the  poet  who  had  shown  him 
the   ideal    of   German    Art.       ''How    poor    one 
feels  after  such  a  loss  as  Goethe's!"    he  writes 
to    his   parents   on   the   31st  of   March.     ''How 
it   changes    the    aspect    of    the    whole    country! 
It    is   a    piece     of    news    that    will    always    be 
brought  back  to  me  by  the  name  of  Paris,  and 
the  impression   of  it  is   one  which   no  kindness, 
nor   any   of   the    bustle   and    excitement   of  the 
gay  life   here,   can   ever  efface." 

*  March  22,  1832. 


I02 


GOETHE   AND   MENDELSSOHN. 


[183: 


All  great  minds  shared  the  depression  of  the 
young  artist,  who  had  enjoyed  the  advantage 
of  Goethe's  society. 

Zelter,  drawn  by  a  mysterious  and  mighty 
loncrincr,  followed  his  friend  to  the  grave  a  few 
weeks  later.  With  Goethe  no  longer  there 
to  look  up  to,  the  world  seemed  desolate 
and  empty.  Ml  missed  the  peaceful  harmony, 
and  the  genial  brightness,  which  had  kept 
every  antagonism  within  bounds,  and  had 
shed  a  light  on  life. 


APPENDIX. 


PLANS   FOR   A   SWISS  JOURNEY. 


105 


APPENDIX. 


The  following  letters  have  not  yet  been  pub- 
lished in  any  permanent  shape ;  and  though 
not  immediately  connected  with  the  period  of 
Mendelssohn's  life  which  forms  the  subject  of 
the  previous  portion  of  this  volume,  they 
cannot  fail  to  be  valuable  to  all  who  take  an 
interest  in  his  character  and  his  career. 

(i.j  To  Herr  Gustav  Preusser,  Leipzig.* 

(Translation.) 

London,  2^th  yum\  1842. 

My  dear  Herr  Preusser, 

Yesterday  I  received  from  my  brother  in  Berlin 
the  good  news  that  I  need  not  be  there  in  the  begin- 
ning of  August,  so  that  on  our  side  there  is  nothing 
to  interfere  with  the  charming  plans  for  the  summer. 

*  From  the  original  in  the  possession  of  Madame  Preusser. 


^A 


r, 


How  will  it  be  about  the  Swiss  journey  ?  I  might 
really  end  my  letter  here,  and  wait  impatiently  for 
your  answer,  for  everything  else  is  contained  in  that 
question.  How  splendid  it  would  be,  and  what  a 
delight  it  would  be  for  us,  if  our  lovely  plan  could 
really  be  crowned  in  this  most  lovely  way.  But  all 
this  we  have  already  talked  over,  and  you  know  it, 
and  why  should  I  repeat  it .?  If  you  can  possibly 
manage  it,  I  do  hope  you  will  not  deny  us,  and  I 
may  add  yourself  too,  this  pleasure.  And  even  if  you 
had  to  make  sacrifices  for  it  yourself,  I  should  like 
to  worry  you  into  it,  provided  only  it  lies  within  the 
limits  of  possibility  ;  for  such  a  journey  is  a  lasting 
and  ever  new  pleasure  for  one's  whole  lifetime,  and 
you  may  perhaps  never  again  have  such  a  summer 
for  it,  or  such  glorious  bright  weather.  To  be  sure 
you  might  find  pleasanter  travelling  companions,  but 
certainly  none  who  would  be  so  glad  to  have  you, 
and  to  whom  you  could  give  greater  pleasure  by  your 
presence ;  and  I  can  promise  you  that  we  should 
get  on  splendidly  together.  Our  present  idea  is  to 
leave  Frankfort  towards  the  end  of  July,  and  spend 
August  in  Switzerland.  Of  course  we  would  gladly 
change  our  plans  if  it  should  not  suit  you.  Only  you 
must  be  quick,  and  tell  me  what  you  think  about  it. 
I  should  like  best  if  you  merely  wrote  "Yes!"  addressed 


I. 


io6 


LETTERS. 


LIFE   AT   FRANKFORT. 


107 


to  Frankfort,  to  the  Souchay's  house,  at  the  "Fahrthor." 
What   a  treat,  what  a  joy  that  would  be   for  us  ! 

My  wife  will  add  a  few  words  to  your  letter;  I  find 
it  more  difficult  than  ever  to  write  letters  from  here, 
for  we  lead  such  a  curious  and  exciting  life,  and  the 
English  are  so  mad  about  me  this  time  (I  mean  they 
are  so  kind),  that  I  often  come  home  in  the  evening 
quite  giddy,  and  don't  know  where  my  head  is.  But 
we  will  talk  about  all  this,  please  God,  on  some 
meadow  or  beautiful  mountain.  And  now  give  my 
love  to  the  whole  dear,  kind  family,  and  especially 
to  my  two  very  dear  nieces  (the  whole  letter  is 
addressed  to  your  wife  as  well),  and  to  Caroline,  and 
Louise,  and  quite  particularly  to  my  darling  godchild, 
and,  in  fact,  to  the  whole  house  (including  the  front 
door,  and  the  bell  that  I  know  so  intimately) ;  and 
give  Schleinitz  and  David  a  hundred  thousand  remem- 
brances from  me,  and  tell  them  that  I  often  long  to 
see  them,  and  that  they  might  have  written  to  me 
once,  and  so  might  I  to  them, — and  pray  forgive  these 
hasty  lines.  And  think  it  over,  and  if  it  lies  within 
the  limits  of  possibility  come  with  us  for  a  lovely 
trip   into  that  lovely   country. 

Ever  yours,  fondly  and  faithfully, 

Fellx  Mendelssohn  Bartholdy, 


(2.)   To  his  Mother,"^ 

(Translation. ) 

Frankfort,  July  19,  1842. 

Dear  little  Mother, 

Here  we  are  again,  all  well  and  happy,  after 
a  delightful  journey.  We  found  the  dear  children  in 
the  best  health  and  spirits,  and  your  dear  letter  reports 
the  same  of  you  all.  One  lovely  day  follows  another 
and  brings  the  same  beautiful  blue  sky  and  warm 
balmy  air.  If  only  one  knew  how  to  be  grateful 
enough  for  all  such  great  pleasures !  It  is  so  sweet  to 
be  here  in  Frankfort  again,  in  the  midst  of  so  many 
dear  friends  and  relations,  and  such  a  lovely  neighbour- 
hood. Every  morning  at  six  I  go  for  a  walk  towards 
the  Darmstadt  Observatory,  and  when  I  come  back 
the  children  are  just  up,  and  all  at  breakfast,  and  then 
the  thought  of  Paul  and  Albertine  and  Switzerland  does 
not  depress  me  so  very  much.  If  God  would  but 
fulfil  all  our  pleasant  prospects,  and  take  our  rejoicings 
for  past  and  future  ones  as  thanks!  Cecile  made  up 
her  mind  this  morning  to  go  with  me,  and  leave 
the  children  here  with  her  mother,  who  enjoys  having 
them  above  all  things.     I  know  that  Cecile  will  repent 

*  From  the  original,  published  by   Dr.  Karl   Mendelssohn  in 
Ueber  Land  und  Meer  iox  1871,  No.  14. 


■niiifffiA»!!'"''^" 


h  f 


io8 


LETTERS. 


1 


of  it  often  enough  before  it  comes  to  the  point ;  but 
I  hope  I  may  be  able  to  keep  her  up  to  the  mark, 
and   the  Pauls  will  do  their  part  also. 

Yesterday  evening,  just  as  I  was  driving  to  the  Miihl- 
derg  with  Veit  and  Bernus,  we  met  Hiller  and  his 
wife ;  on  the  steamer  we  travelled  with  Madame 
Matthieu,  then  with  Herr  and  Madame  Rubens  ;  at 
Mainz  we  had  a  chat  with  the  Woringens,  who  went 
with  us  to  the  railway  station  (Prince  Frederic — on 
his  way  back  from  Rome — detained  us  so  long  on  the 
road  that  we  very  nearly  came  too  late)  ;  then  there 
were  Schlemmer  and  his  wife  fresh  from  Ems,  Julie 
Schunk-Jcanrenaud  (much  better)  from  Dresden,  and 
Rosenhain  from  Paris,  Benecke  senior  from  London, 
Ditto  junior  from  his  property, — all  meeting  at  the 
gate  ;    such  is  our  life  every  day ! 

I  must  tell  you  a  little  more  about  London  and 
the  days  after  our  trip  to  Manchester.  I  could  not 
make  up  my  mind  to  go  to  Dublin  because  of  the 
twelve  hours'  sea  journey,  the  thought  of  which  crushed 
all  my  ideas.  We  spent  tw'o  peaceful  days  in  Man- 
chester wqth  the  uncles  and  aunts,  but  as  soon  as  we 
got  back  to  London  the  whirl  began  again.  I  shall 
tell  you  all  about  it  verbally — how  disgracefully  Cecile 
carried  on  with  Sir  Edward  Bulwer,  and  how  old  Rogers 
(Sam  Rogers,  you  know)  squeezed  her  hand  and  begged 


'^mtt 


■ON— ««p  ^tm«'<0^mmä  m>'" 


LONDON   SOCIETY   IN    1842. 


109 


her  to  bring  up  her  children  to  be  as  charming  as 
herself,  and  to  speak  English  as  well  (this  made  a 
sensation),  and  how  Mr.  Roebuck  came  in  (ask  Dirichlet 
who  he  is), — a  propos,  at  Aix-la-Chapelle  we  paid  the 
Meyers  a  proper  visit,  but  at  Cologne  we  could  only 
stop  twenty  minutes,  so  were  unable  to  look  up 
Louise  Hensel, — and  how  w^e  played  charades  at  the 
Bcneckes',  and  Klingeinann  acted  a  West  India  planter 
and  Sir  Walter  Scott,  and  how  the  Directors  of  the 
Philharmonic  gave  me  a  fish  dinner  at  Greenwich  with 
whitebait  and  speeches,  and  how  they  sung  my  Anti- 
gone music  at  the  Moscheles'  (I  must  imitate  that  on 
the  piano  for  your  benefit — I  see  Beckchen  laughing 
already  :  but  why  does  she  never  write  ?) — and  how 
I  waited  for  Herr  von  Massow  at  the  Brunswick  Hotel, 
and  spoke  to  Herr  Abeken  at  the  Bunsens' — and 
how  we  had  a  great  dinner  at  the  Bunsens' — all  this 
I  shall  describe  minutely  when  I  see  you  ;  but  I  must 
at  once  tell  you  all  the  details  of  my  last  visit  at 
Buckingham  Palace.  I  know  how  it  will  amuse  you, 
dear  mother,  and  me  too. 

It  is,  as  Grahl  says,  the  one  really  pleasant  and 
thoroughly  comfortable  English  house,  where  one  feels 
ä  son  aise.  Of  course  I  do  know  a  few  others,  but 
yet  on  the  whole  I  agree  with  him.  Joking  apart. 
Prince  Albert  had  asked  me  to  go  to  him  on  Saturday 


no 


LETTERS. 


at  two  o'clock,  so  that  I  mi\^ht  try  his  or^an  before  I 
left  England  ;  I  found  him  alone,  and  as  we  were  talk- 
ing away  the  Queen  came  in,  also  alone,  in  a  simple 
morning  dress.  She  said  she  was  obliged  to  leave 
for  Claremont  in  an  hour,  and  then  suddenly  inter- 
rupting herself  exclaimed,  "  But  goodness,  what  a 
confusion  ! "  for  the  wind  had  littered  the  whole  room, 
and  even  the  pedals  of  the  organ  (which,  by  the  way, 
made  a  very  pretty  feature  in  the  room),  with  leaves 
of  music  from  a  large  portfolio  that  lay  open.  As 
she  spoke  she  knelt  down  and  began  picking  up  the 
music ;  Prince  Albert  helped,  and  I  too  was  not  idle. 
Then  Prince  Albert  proceeded  to  explain  the  stops  to 
me,  and  she  said  that  she  would  meanwhile  put  things 
straight.  I  begged  that  the  Prince  would  first  play 
me  something,  so  that,  as  I  said,  I  might  boast  about 
it  in  Germany  ;  and  he  played  a  Choral,  by  heart, 
with  the  pedals,  so  charmingly  and  clearly  and  cor- 
rectly that  it  would  have  done  credit  to  any  professional, 
and  the  Queen,  having  finished  her  work,  came  and 
sat  by  him  and  listened  and  looked  pleased.  Then  it 
was  my  turn,  and  I  began  my  chorus  from  "'St.  Paul" 
— "  How  lovely  are  the  messengers."  Before  I  got  to 
the  end  of  the  first  verse  they  both  joined  in  the  chorus, 
and  all  the  time  Prince  Albert  managed  the  .stops  for 
me   so   cleverly — first   a   flute,   at   the  forte   the   great 


tmrnm 


«I»»  I'  I 


AT   BUCKINGHAM   PALACE. 


Ill 


organ,  at  the  D  major  part  the  whole,  then  he  made 
a  lovely  diminuendo  with  the  stops,  and  so  on  to  the 
end  of  the  piece,  and  all  by  heart — that  I  was  really 
quite  enchanted.  Then  the  young  Prince  of  Gotha 
came  in,  and  there  was  more  chatting ;  and  the  Queen 
asked  if  I  had  written  any  new  songs,  and  she  said 
she  was  very  fond  of  singing  my  published  ones.  "  You 
should  sing  one  to  him,"  said  Prince  Albert ;  and  after 
a  little  begging,  she  said  she  would  try  the  ''  Frühlings- 
lied"* in  B  flat— "if  it  is  still  here,"  she  added,  "for 
all  my  music  is  packed  up  for  Claremont."  Prince 
Albert  went  to  look  for  it,  but  came  back,  saying  it 
was  already  packed.     "  But  one  might  perhaps  unpack 

it,"  said  I.     *'  We  must  send  for  Lady ,"  she  said 

(I  did  not  catch  the  name).  So  the  bell  was  rung, 
and  the  servants  were  sent  after  it,  but  without  success  ; 
and  at  last  the  Oueen  went  herself,  and  while  she 
was  gone  Prince  Albert  said  to  me,  "  She  begs  you 
will  accept  this  present  as  a  remembrance,"  and  gave 
me  a  little  case  with  a  beautiful  ring,  on  which  is 
engraved  "V.  R.   1842."     Then  the  Queen  came  back 

and  said,   "  Lady  is  gone,  and  has  taken  all  my 

things  with  her.  It  really  is  most  annoying."  (You 
can't  think  how  that  amused  me.)  I  then  begged 
that  I   might  not  be  made  to  sufler  for  the  accident, 

*  Op.  47,  No.  3. 


y 


112 


LETTERS. 


and  hoped  she  would  sing  another  song.     After  some 
consultation  with  her  husband  he  said,   "she  will  sing 
you    something   of  Gluck's."      Meantime   the    Princess 
of  Gotha  had  come  in,  and  we  five  proceeded  through 
various   corridors   and    rooms   to   the    Queen's    sitting- 
room,  where  there  was  a  gigantic  rocking-horse  standing 
near  the  sofa,  and  two  big  bird-cages,  and  pictures  on 
the  walls,  and  splendidly    bound    books   on  the  table, 
and  music  on  the  piano.     The  Duchess  of  Kent  came 
in  too,  and  while  they  were   all    talking   I   rummaged 
about    amongst    the    music,    and    soon    discovered    my 
first  set  of  songs.     So,  of  course,  I  begged  her  rather 
to   sing   one   of  those   than    the    Gluck,   to   which  she 
very  kindly  consented ;    and  which  did  she  choose  ? — 
"Schöner  und  schöner  schmückt  sich!"*  sung  it  quite 
charmingly    in    strict    time    and    tune,    and     with    very 
good  execution.     Only  in  the  line  "  Der  Prosa  Lasten 
und  Müh,"  where  it  goes  down  to  D,  and  then  comes 
up   again    so    closely,    she   sang   D   sharp   each   time, 
and  as   I  gave   her  the  note  the   two  first   times,  the 
last  time  she  sang  D,  and  there  it  ought  to  have  been 
D  sharp.     But   with    the   exception  of  this  little   mis- 
take it  was  really  charming,  and  the  last  long  G  I  have 
never  heard  better,  or  purer,  or  more  natural  from  any 
amateur.     Then   I  was  obliged  to  confess  that  Fanny 

»"Italien"— Op.  8,  No.  3. 


i 


THE   QUEEN'S   SINGING. 


113 


had    written   the  song  (which  I  found  very  hard,  but 
pride  must  have  a  fall),   and   beg  her  to  sing  one   of 
my   own    also.     If  I    would   give   her   plenty   of    help 
she  would  gladly  try,  she  said,  and  then  she  sang  the 
Pilgerspruch,*  "  Lass  dich  nur,"  really  quite  faultlessly, 
and  with  charming  feeling  and  expression.     I  thought 
to  myself,  one  must    not  pay  too    many  compliments 
on  such  an  occasion,  so  I  merely  thanked  her  a  great 
many  times ;  upon  which  she  said,  "  Oh,  if  only  I  had 
not   been    so    frightened ;  generally    I  have   such  long 
breath."     ^Then    I   praised  her   heartily  and   with    the 
best  conscience   in  the  world ;   for  just  that  part  with 
the  long  C  at  the  close  she  had  done  so  well,  taking 
it    and    the  three   notes  next   to    it  all    in    the   same 
breath,   as   one   seldom   hears   it   done — and   therefore 
it   amused    me    doubly   that   she   herself  should  have 
begun   about   it.     After   this    Prince   Albert   sang   the 
Aerndte-lied,-f"    "  Es    ist    ein    Schnitter ; "  and  then   he 
said    I    must   play  him  something  before   I  went,  and 
o-ave  me  as  themes  the  Choral  which  he  had  played 
on   the   organ    and   the    song   he   had    just   sung.      If 
everything   had   gone  as   usual,  I    ought   to   have  im- 
provised   dreadfully    badly,    for    it    is    almost    always 
so  with   me  when    I   want  it   to  go  well,  and   then    I 
should  have  gone  away  vexed  with  the  whole    morn- 


*  Op.  8,  No.  5. 


t  Op.  8,  No.  4. 


114 


LETTERS. 


ing.      But,  just  as  if  I  were  to  keep  nothing  but  the 
pleasantest,   most   charming  recollection  of  it,  I  never 
improvised  better;  I  was  in  the  best  mood  for  it  and 
played   a   long   time,   and   enjoyed   it  myself  so   that 
besides   the   two   themes    I    brought   in   the  song  that 
the    Oueen   had    sung,    naturally   enough ;    and    it    all 
went  off  so  easily  that  I  would  gladly  not  have  stopped ; 
and  they  followed  me  with   so    much  intelligence  and 
attention  that  I  felt  more  at  my  ease  than  I  ever  did 
in  improvising  to  an  audience.    She  said  several  times  she 
hoped  I  would  soon  come  to  England  again  and  pay 
them  a  visit,  and  then  I  took  leave,  and  down  below 
I  saw  the  beautiful  carriages  waiting,  with  their  scarlet 
outriders,  and    in    a   quarter   of  an  hour  the  flag  was 
lowered,    and    the    Court    Circular    announced,    *'  Her 
Majesty  left  the  palace  at  twenty  minutes  past  three  ; " 
and   I  went  off  in  the   rain  to  the  Klingemanns,  and 
had  the  double  pleasure  of  pouring  out  all  my  news 
to  them  and  to  Cecile.— It  was  a  happy  morning. 

I  must  add  that  I  begged  the  Queen  to  allow  me 
to  dedicate  my  A  minor  symphony  to  her,  as  that 
had  really  been  the  inducement  of  my  journey,  and 
because  the  English  name  on  the  Scotch  piece  would 
look  doubly  well.  Alfo,  I  forgot  to  tell  you  how  just 
as  she  was  going  to  begin  to  sing  she  said,  "  But  the 
parrot    must    go   out   first,    or  he   will   screecli   louder 


CROSSING  TO   OSTEND. 


"5 


than  I  shall  sing ; "  upon  which  Prince  Albert  rang  the 
bell,  and  the  Prince  of  Gotha  said  he  would  carry  it 
out,  and  I  said  "Allow  me,"  and  carried  the  great  cage 
out,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  servants.  There  is 
plenty  more  to  say  when  we  meet ;  but  if  Dirichlet 
goes  and  thinks  me  a  little  aristocrat  because  of  this 
long  history,  I  swear  I  am  more  radical  than  ever, 
and  call  to  witness  Grote,  Roebuck,  and  you,  my 
dear  little  mother,  who  will  be  as  much  amused  by 
all  these  details  as  I  am  myself 

As  I  am  in  the  midst  of  descriptions  I  must  speak 
of  one  thing  more — how  after  a  splendid  crossing  we 
heard  in  the  night  that  we  were  only  half  an  hour  from 
Ostend,  and  I  went  up  on  deck  and  found  a  calm  grey 
sea,  morning  just  breaking,  lovely  stars,  and  the  steamer 
making  straight  for  the  lighthouse,  which  gleamed  out 
all  white  and  bright,  with  a  couple  of  red  and  yellow 
lights  down  below  to  show  where  the  pier  was  ;  and 
England  lay  behind  us,  and  the  Continent,  which  is 
also  beautiful,  before  us. 

On  the  Rhine  we  unhappily  received  the  terrible 
news  from  France.  No  doubt  you  also,  like  all  of  us, 
were  deeply  grieved  at  the  young  man's  *  sad  fate. 

*  Louis  Philippe's  eldest  son,  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  killed  at 
Neuilly  by  the  overturning  of  his  carriage,  on  the  13th  of  July, 
1842. 

I  2 


i. 


ii6 


LETTERS. 


With  James  I  did  not  make  acquaintance  (and  I 
confess  my  ignorance  unwillingly),  and  saw  his  name  for 
the  first  time  in  your  letter. 

Again  I  say  a  thousand,  thousand  thanks  for  your 
dear  letter,  and  I  beg  and  pray  for  more  and  for  many. 
I  am  no  flatterer  when  I  say  what  a  delight  such  a 
letter  from  you  is  for  all  of  us,  and  how  earnestly  we 
long  for  speedy  and  frequent  news  from  you, — it  is  the 
truth.  Do  give  us  this  pleasure  as  often  as  you  possibly 
can,  dear  mother.  Give  my  best  love  to  all  at  home 
(I  mean  my  sisters  and  brother,  and  brothers-in-law,  and 
nephews),  and  tell  them  to  think  nicely  of  me  and  to 
write  to  me  sometimes.     Hoping  for  a  happy  meeting, 

I  am  always,  dear  Mother,  your 

Felix. 


(3.)     To  Herr  .* 

(Translation.) 

Leipzig,  ^j>ril  2,  1843. 

My  dear  Sir, 

A  thousand  thanks  for  your  kind  letter,  and 
for  the  fact  of  your  being  one  of  those  people  who 
do  not  look  upon  the  memories  of  pleasant  times  and 
happy  days  as  dead,  but  rather  as  a  living  and  active 
influence,  just  as  I  do  with  my  whole  heart,  and  have 

'*  The  original  has  neither  name  nor  address. 


f 


PAST  AND   PRESENT. 


117 


insisted  on  all  my  life  !  Every  little  circumstance  which 
you  mention,  and  a  va.st  number  of  smaller  ones  besides, 
such  as  the  places  we  sat  in  at  Erard's,  and  the  lights 
which  were  burned  at  the  Baillot-Soiree,  and  the  parts 
on  the  blue  paper,  and  the  tea  which  we  drank 
before  it  began — all  this  came  upon  me  as  if  it  were 
yesterday,  when  I  got  your  letter  with  its  greetings 
from  happy  past  times.  It  is  just  because  such  things 
remain  so  unforgotten,  so  dear  and  precious  to  me, 
and  because  most  people  like  to  forget  the  past  in 
the  present,  that  I  am  doubly  glad  when  some  one 
thinks  as  I  do,  and  takes  the  past  with  the  present, 
and  rejoices  in  it — and  so  I  thank  you  with  all  my  heart 
for  your  letter ;  and  especially  for  the  dear  kind  remem- 
brance which  you  have  kept  of  me  v/ith  all  these  details, 
and  for  the  assurance  that  you  have  not  lost  the  good 
friendship  of  those  days  for  me,  and  will  not  lose  it. 
That  it  is  the  same  with  me  you  know  very  well, 
and  so  I  join  with  you  most  heartily  in  the  wish  that 
we  may  soon  meet  one  another  once  again  in  the  world 
and  be  happy  together.  Then  we  will  revel  in  all  the 
recollections  of  that  Paris  life,  and  see  who  can  outdo 
the  other  in  them,  and  above  all  we  will  add  others 
to  them,  new  and  deli'ghtful  ones  of  the  time  being, 
and  make  new  experiences  which  shall  also  last  out 
their  twelve  years,  fresh  and  vivid.     Only  let  it  be  soon. 


ii8 


LETTERS. 


whether  In  Leipzig,  or  at  Ansbach,  or  on  the  way 
anywhere  else  about  in  Germany. — Herr  Dürrner,  whose 
talent  I  value  very  highly,  I  have  unfortunately  seen 
but  once  here,  and  that  for  a  very  short  time.  My 
winter-months  are  so  completely  filled  up  with  work, 
both  public  and  private,  that  I  do  not  have  the  least 
time  for  social  intercourse.  So  I  shall  enjoy  it  all  the 
more  after  Easter,  when  all  my  public  duties  cease  for 
six  months.  I  rejoice  immensely  in  that  time,  and 
hope  that  I  may  then  see  a  great  deal  of  Herr  Dürrner, 
and  get  to  know  his  compositions  thoroughly,  and  be- 
come as  intimately  acquainted  with  him  and  his  music 
as  a  superficial  acquaintance  has  already  made  me  wish 
to  be.  I  also  hope  to  hear  plenty  more  details  from  him 
about  you  and  your  life  there,  and  then  he  will  be  able 
to  report  to  you  about  me  and  my  life.  But  the  best 
thing,  as  I  said  before,  would  be  that  we  should  do  it 
for  ourselves,  and  so  be  able  to  judge  at  once  with 
our  own  eyes. 

In  the  hope  that  this  wish  may  soon  be  fulfilled,  and 
with  many  thanks  for  your  kind  remembrances  and 
friendly  letter,  I  must  close  this,  and  remain,  with 
great  respect,  always  yours  faithfully, 

Felix  Mendelssohn  Bartholdy. 


h' 


I 


< 


HANDEL'S   ORATORIOS. 


119 


II. 

(4.)  To  W.  Sterndale  Bennett,  Esq.* 

(Original. ) 

Leipzig,  April  3,  1839. 

....  You  are  now  in  the  middle  of  your  Lon- 
don season,  with  concerts,  foreigners,  businesses  &c.  of 
every  kind  and  you  will  be  giddy  and  occupied  enough 
I  dare  say ;  and  yet  I  write  these  lines  in  order  to 
increase  your  occupations  if  possible,  to  add  a  new 
trouble  to  those  that  already  surround  you,  in  short 
to  ask  a  question — perhaps  also  a  favour.  You  will 
recollect  that  I  had  a  mind  to  publish  some  of  Handel's 
Scores,  viz.  in  the  original  shape,  and  only  with  a 
written  Organ  part  of  mine,  for  those  that  do  not  know 
how  to   accompany  that   sort  of  music  on  the  organ. 

Since    your   departure   Breitkopf  and    Hartel 

have  readily  undertaken  to  publish  three  oratorios  in 
Score  as  a  beginning  and  to  go  on  with  it  if  the 
Public  takes  interest  in  the  matter. 

Now  after  I  looked  over  my  Arnold's  Edition  I  find 
it  so  full  of  mistakes  so  far  from  accurate  in  the  details 
that  it  is  impossible  to  give  a  new  edition  without 
comparing  the  manuscripts  which  are   in  your  King's 

*  From  the  original  in  the  possession  of  Sir  \V.  Sterndale 
Bennett. 


I20 


LETTERS. 


(or  Queen's)  library  and  the  other  editions  of  Handel 
which  may  exist.  My  Question  then  is :  will  you  do  me 
the  favor  to  assist  me  in  that  undertaking,  by  looking 
over  the  M.S.  in  those  parts  which  appear  doubtful 
in  Arnold's  Edition,  by  comparing  the  other  editions 
when  the  M.S.  does  not  explain  the  questioned  passages, 
or  by  asking  advice  of  those  English  musicians  whom 
you  think  best  acquainted  with  Handclian  music  and 
spirit,  if  the  matter  still  remains  undecided.  I  know 
your  kindness  and  that  if  you  are  not  too  occupied 
and  your  time  not  too  much  taken  up  by  the  season 
you  will  answer  in  the  affirmative.  Allow  me  then 
to  add  a  few  questions  which  the  perusal  of  Arnold's 
score  of  Samson  (which  is  to  be  amongst  the  three) 
suggested  to  my  mind,  and  which  you  would  greatly 
oblige  me  in  answering.  I  saw  the  original  of  Samson 
in  the  King's  library  in  1829  and  Mr.  Anderson  gave 
me  then  the  permission  to  look  it  over  and  take 
memoranda. 

I.  Are  the  Cyphers  (how  do  you  call  it  ? ,  Bezifferung, 
the  numbers  that  indicate  the  chords  in  the  bass  part) 
Handel's  or  whose  else  ? 

Are  there  any  Cyphers  in  the  manuscript  ? 

n.  Do  you  ever  play  the  organ  in  England  to 
Handel's  overtures,  as  for  instance  to  that  of  Samson  ? 

HI.  In  some  oratorios  I   find  songs  and  recitatives 


QUESTIONS   AS  TO    "SAMSON.' 


121 


1 


f 


which  are  evidently  not  to  be  sung  one  after  the  other, 
but  only  composed  to  give  a  choice  to  the  singer  so  that 
only  one  out  of  many  must  be  performed.  Several 
instances  occur  in  Arnold's  Edition  of  the  Messiah.  But 
also  in  Samson  there  are  many  songs  which  seem  rather 
out  of  keeping,  and  some  repetitions  which  look  as  if 
they  were  only  to  give  a  choice,  not  to  be  performed 
one  after  the  other.  Are  there  any  proofs  of  the  truth 
of  this  to  be  found  in  the  manuscript  ?  For  instance 
in  the  beginning  where  the  three  airs  are  in  A,  D,  and 
B  minor,  with  the  chorus  in  D  are  repeated  three  times, 
seem  rather  doubtful  ?  But  more  so  the  two  dead 
marches,  one  after  the  other,  one  in  C  and  one  in  D  } 
Is  there  no  indication  which  was  the  original  one  ^  Also 
the  repetition  of  the  Chorus  of  Virgins  page  89  of 
Arnold,  after  it  came  in  already  page  SS.  Also  (but  for 
other  reasons)  Dalila's  songs  page  79  and  91  ;  also  the 
Recitative,  6th  Bar,  page  30  ;  Song  page  40  ;  ditto  page 
61  ;  62  ;  69  and  70 ;  and  page  97  &c.  &c.  &c. 

IV.  Is  there  no  indication  of  ''Presto"  in  Handel's 
handwriting  in  the  chorus  "  O  first  created  beam  "  when 
the  words  "  to  thy  dark  servant "  begin  ? 

V.  Is  there  another  edition  of  the  Score  of  Samson 
than  Arnold's  ? 

VI.  In  page  46  of  Arn.  Ed.  there  are  the  4  begin- 
ning  bars   of  the   Recit.   without   Accomp. ;   it  comes 


122 


LETTERS. 


afterwards  in,  nobody  knows  how.  Is  that  also  the  case 
in  the  manuscript  ? 

And  if  you  find  other  things  which  strike  you  when 
comparing  the  MS.  with  the  printed  Copy  pray  let 
me  know  them. 

Now  excuse  all  that  trouble  and  let  me  have  an 
answer  as  soon  as  possible.  Tell  me  how  you  are,  now 
you  fmd  yourself  in  England  again 

I  shall  stay  here  till  the  23rd  of  this  month ;  from 
then  till  the  end  of  May  direct  any  communications 
to  Düsseldorf,  poste  restante;  from  the  beginning  of 
June  to  Frankfort,  poste  restante Farewell. 

F.  M.  B. 


(5.)    To  G.  A.  Macfarren,  Esq.,  London. 

(Original.) 

Leipzig,  2nd  Aprils  1843. 

My  dear  Sir, 

You  have  expected  a  letter  from  me,  and  I  one 
from  you  ;  for  at  the  conclusion  of  your  last  you  said 
you  would  look  out  once  more  for  your  Overture  and 
send  me  word,  as  soon  as  you  had  found  it.  I  thought 
it  impossible  that  such  a  work  should  have  been  lost 
entirely,  and  waited  every  day  for  the  score   or   some 


MACFARREN'S    "CHEVY   CHASE." 


123 


news  from  you — and  now  it  seems  you  did  the  same. 
When  I  did  not  hear  from  you,  I  tried  to  bring  out  the 
Symphony  in  one  of  our  last  Concerts,  but  as  I  sus- 
pected, when  I  first  wrote  to  you,  there  was  some 
opposition  from  the  Directors,  merely  because  there 
had  been  four  new  Symphonies  in  the  course  of  the  last 
two  months,  and  they  did  so  much  that  I  was  obliged 
to  postpone  it  until  the  beginning  of  the  next  season, 
although  it  was  half  copied  already.  I  am  sorry  you 
feel  disappointed  by  the  delay,  but  it  was  not  in  my 
power  to  help  it.  Meanwhile  I  must  repeat  what  I  said 
in  my  first  letter— if  you  Jiad  an  Overture  I  am  sure  it 
would  be  a  better  beginning  for  this  public  and  these 
Concerts,  than  a  Symphony.  Ask  Bennett,  who  knows 
the  place,  and  who  will  certainly  concur  in  this  opinion. 
And  if  you  could  accordingly  let  us  have  an  Overture 
before  the  Symphony,  I  am  sure  the  last  would  be 
much  better  understood  and  received  by  the  public, 
even  if  there  had  not  been  such  a  quantity  of  new 
native  Symphonies  beforehand,  as  there  has  been  this 
year.  You  tell  me,  you  never  wrote  an  Overture  to 
Rob  Roy.  But  did  I  dream  of  it,  or  what  else  can  it 
be }  for  I  recollect  the  key,  D  major,  the  time  6-%, 
recollect  that  I  saw  it  published,  arranged  as  a  duet, 
that  it  began  with  this  rhythm  :  mm\»'f^T^  j  j^*g  &c., 
that  on  the  first  page  of  music  was  printed  once  more 


124 


LETTERS. 


the  title — Overture  to  &c.  by  A.  Macfarren — now  can 
I  have  invented,  or  dreamt  all  this  ?  I  wish  I  was  right 
and  you  would  send  it  or  anything  else  like  it, — for  I 
liked  it  very  much,  and  so  would  the  people  here.* 

And  as  for  my  not  writing,  you  must  never  be  angry 
with  me  for  that,  or  I  should  be  afraid  of  losing  your 
good  opinion  very  soon.  I  often  live  many  months 
without  being  able  to  write  a  letter,  sometimes  also 
without  an  hour  of  leisure  for  doing  so,  and  all  my 
friends  know  it  and  must  bear  with  it,  for  it  is  stron^-er 
than  I  am.     Ask  Bennett  also  in  this  respect. 

And  as  for  those  good  friends  of  yours  who  think,  as 
you  say,  that  English  music  is  a  thing  which  cannot  be 
endured  in  Germany,  and  that  a  work  of  yours  would  be 
here  like  an  apparition  of  two  moons, — pray  ask  them 
to  wait  a  few  months,  before  they  repeat  an  opinion 
equally  creditable  to  us  and  to  you,  or  pray  tell  them 
in  my  name  that  they  are  sadly  mistaken,  and  that  the 
event  will  soon  prove  them  to  be  so. 

I  wish  I  could  write  much  longer,  but  again  I  cannot, 
and  can  only  assure  you  that  I  shall  always  remain 

Yours  very  truly, 

Felix  Mendelssohn  Bartholdv. 


*  Mendelssohn  here  refers  to  the  Overture  to  Chevy  Chase, 
which  was  performed  on  the  ist  November  following.  See  the 
next  letter. 


MACFARREN'S    ''CHEVY   CHASE." 


125 


\ 


(6.)      To  the  Same. 

(Original.) 

Leipzig,  20th  Nov.,  1843. 

My  DEAR  Sir, 

I  am  going  to  leave  Leipzig  in  a  few  days  with 
wife  and  children,  and  chairs  and  tables  and  Piano  and 
everything.  And  while  I  think  of  the  duties  I  have 
still  to  fulfil  as  part  of  the  direction  of  the  Abonnement- 
Concerts,  I  feel  that  I  must  write  a  few  words  to  you, 
although  I  charged  Mr.  Wessel  some  time  ago  to  do  so 
in  my  name.  I  must  tell  you  that  your  Overture  went 
very  well  and  was  most  cordially  and  unanimously 
received  by  the  public ;  that  the  amateurs  hailed  it  as  a 
work  which  promised  them  a  great  many  treats  to  come, 
and  which  gave  them  such  a  treat  already  in  itself;  that 
the  orchestra  played  it  with  true  delight  and  enthusiasm ; 
in  short  that  it  is  sure  to  be  a  favourite  with  all  of  them. 
I  rehearsed  and  conducted  it  with  the  utmost  care ;  but 
now  I  am  going  to  Berlin  and  shall  not  have  the 
pleasure  of  introducing  some  of  your  other  Pieces  to  the 
Public  this  winter.  But  I  left  the  whole  of  your  music 
with  the  Concert-Directors  (in  the  hands  of  Mr.  H.  C. 
Schleinitz)  who  will  forward  it  back  to  you  after  the  end 
of  the  season,  and  they  promised  me  that  they  will  bring 
out  at  least  one  of  your  other  works,  if  not  several  in 


126 


LETTERS. 


the  course  of  this  winter.     Most  probably  it  will  be  the 
Symphony,  of  which  the  parts  arc  half  copied  already, 

God  bless  you,  my  dear  Sir;  excuse  these  hasty 
lines ;  they  pack  up  all  my  things  and  I  am  in  a  black, 
or  at  least  greyish  mood.  Yes,  God  bless  you  from  all 
my  heart,  and  be  as  happy  in  your  life  and  in  your  art 
as  I  shall  always  wish  you  to  be  !     Very  truly  yours, 

Felix  Mendelssohn  Bartholdy. 


(7.)   To  the  Same. 

(Original.) 

4,  HoBART  Place,  Eaton  Square, 
yuuc  dth^  1844. 

My  dear  Sir, 

I  need  not  tell  you  with  how  great  a  pleasure 
I  would  have  played  your  Sonata*  to-morrow,  if  I 
possibly  could — for  I  hope  you  know  this.  And  you 
also  know  that  it  is  with  true  and  sincere  regret  that 
I  must  say  I  am  not  able  to  undertake  the  task  which 
you  propose  me.  During  the  bustle  of  the  last  weeks 
I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  become  acquainted  with 
your  Sonata ;  the  whole  of  this  day  and  of  to-morrow 
morning  is  taken   up   with   different   musical  and   un- 

*  "  Ma  cousinc;"   second   Sonata  (for   Pianoforte  solo  in  A)  ; 
dedicated  to  Miss  Emma  Bendixen,  by  G.  Alexander  ]\Iacrarren. 


A   TRUE   ARTIST'S   CONSCIENCE. 


127 


musical  engagements  and  accordingly  I  would  hardly 
have  an  hour  till  to-morrow  night  to  play  your  Sonata 
over.  This  I  cannot  think  sufficient,  and  I  would  not 
be  able  to  do  it  justice  in  my  own  eyes.  Do  not  mis- 
understand me  and  take  this  for  false  modesty ;  I  know 
very  well  that  I  should  be  able  to-morrow  to  play  it 
through  without  stopping  and  perhaps  without  wrong 
notes ;  but  I  attach  too  much  importance  to  any  public 
performance  to  believe  that  sufficient,  and  unless  I  am 
myself  thoroughly  acquainted  with  a  Composition  of 
such  importance  and  compass  I  would  never  venture 
to  play  it  in  public.  Once  more  I  need  not  tell  you 
how  much  I  regret  it,  for  you  must  know  it  very  well. 

Mr.  Davison  told  me  the  Concert  was  now  to 
begin  with  my  Trio  :*  I  shall  therefore  be  punctually 
with  you  to-morrow  evening  at  \  past  8.  I  beg  you 
will  arrange  about  having  a  good  Piano  of  Erard's  at 
the  room  ;  they  know  there  already  which  I  like  best. 

Always  very  sincerely  yours, 

Felix  Mendelssohn  Bartholdy. 


The  performance  of  Mendelssohn's  Antiwne 
which  formed  the  occasion  of  the  followine  letter 

*  In  D  minor  :  Op.  49. 


in 


128 


LETTERS. 


took  place  early  in  1845  at  Covent  Garden 
Theatre,  where  that  work  was  produced  for  the 
first  time  in  this  country,  under  the  musical 
direction  of  Mr.  G.  A.  Macfarren.  The  enter- 
prise  was  perfectly  successful,  and  the  piece 
ran  thirty  nights,  only  stopping  with  the  termi- 
nation of  the  season. 

(8.)     To  the  Same. 

(Original. ) 

My   dear   Sir,  Frankfurt,  Zth  December,  1844. 

Your  letter  came  two  days  before  my  departure 
from  Berlin,  and  immediately  after  it  I  received  the 
news  of  the  very  very  sore  illness  of  my  youngest  child, 
which  called  me  in  great  haste  back  to  this  place, 
where  I  had  left  my  family.  The  child  continues 
very  ill,  and  the  physicians  give  us  but  a  very  faint 
hope ;  they  say  that  if  it  recovers  it  can  only  be  very 
slowly,  and  may  last  many  months,  so  I  need  not 
beg  your  pardon  for  not  having  answered  punctually, 
although  the  object  of  your  letter  was  of  great  musical 
importance  to  me.  But  I  say  the  same  words  as  you 
do  at  the  end  of  your  letter ;  and  although  I  love  my 
art,  more  from  my  heart  indeed  than  words  can   say, 


\ 


ANTIGONE"   AT   COVENT   GARDEN. 


129 


there  are  other  things  before  which  even  that  love  must 
vanish  and  be  silent.  Do  not  let  me  add  another 
word 

Have    many   thanks    for   the    interest   you   take    in 
bringing    out    my   music   to   the    Antigone-Choruses; 
I   am  very  glad  it  is  in  your  hands,  because  it  wants 
a  musician  like  you  to  make  it  go  as  intended— quite 
as   a   subordinate   part    of  the   whole,  as  a  mere  link 
in  the  chain  of  the  poem,  and  yet  perfectly  clear  and 
independent  in  itself.     I  am  glad   you  have  so  many 
Chorus-singers  ;  I  think  they  will  be  necessary  in  your 
large  Theatre.     I  hope  you  will  also  have  them  placed 
not  on  the  stage  but  in  the  place  where   usually  the 
Orchestra  is,  viz.  before  the  stage,  so  as  it  was  in  Berlin, 
Dresden,  &c.,  and  I  believe  also  at  Paris.     It  enhances 
the  effects  of  the  voices,  the  distinctness  of  the  words, 
and  the  beauty  of  the  scenery  most  wonderfully.     Pray 
let  them  pronounce  the  words  as  distinctly  as  possible, 
so  as  to  make  the  notes  less  prominent  and  the  words 
more   so,    than    they   usually   are    in    Opera-Choruses. 
Then  let  the  succession  of  Dialogue  and  Music  be  as 
rapid  as  possible,  indeed  quite  without  the  least  inter- 
ruption or  pause  ;    for  instance  when  the  curtain   rises 
and  Antigone  has  appeared,  has  called  her  sister  and 
brought  her  forward  from   the  background,  it  must  be 
the  last  bar  but  one  of  the  Overture,  so   that   imme- 


I30 


LETTERS. 


diatcly  after  the  last  chord  of  the  wind  Instruments 
(GS|)  Antigone  begins  to  speak  while  the  chord  is  still 
kept.  Again  the  first  Chorus  must  begin  as  soon  as 
Antigone  has  gone  down  the  steps  (not  immediately- 
after  Ismene's  last  words  of  course),  and  Kreon  must 
be  seen  immediately  when  the  C  major  chord,  fortis- 
simo, comes  down  before  the  Recitative  of  the  Choruses, 
and  Kreon  must  again  begin  to  speak  while  the  chord 
K  flat  is  hardly  given,  and  it  must  be  kept  during 
the  first  words — and  so  on  throughout  the  whole.  I 
wish  the  effect  of  the  whole  music  to  be  very  lively 
and  yet  not  too  fast,  and  very  majestic  and  yet  not 
slow.  This  applies  also  particularly  to  the  Chorus- 
Rccitatives,  which  if  sung  by  a  whole  mass  of  voices 
are  of  a  good  effect,  but  they  must  not  drag  them, 
they  must  not  sing  them  in  time,  nor  waver  in 
their  way  of  delivering  them  ;  it  must  be  as  if  they 
all  did  speak  the  words  and  understand  the  mean- 
ing now  faster  now  slower  as  the  meaning  requires 
it  and  never  in  a  dragging  and  tiresome  way;  for 
instance  the  Recitative  at  the  end  of  the  2nd  Chorus 
it  must  be  delivered  with  great  energy,  and  as  fast 
as  a  single  singer  would  sing  the  same  words— and 
so  all  of  them.  If  you  have  but  one  of  your  Solo 
singers  who  sings  Recitatives  well  and  in  a  truly 
dramatic  way,  you  will  easily  make  the  whole  Chorus 


k 


INSTRUCTIONS    FOR   PERFORMANCE. 


131 


follow  him,  and  after  few  Rehearsals  they  will  do  it 
altogether  and  by  themselves.  In  the  Melodramas,  where 
the  words  must  go  together  with  the  notes  (with  Flutes 
and  Clarinets,  &c.),  do  not  let  the  actress  take  the 
tempo  of  your  music  (as  I  heard  them  do  lately  at 
Dresden),  but  let  the  flutes  accompany  her  tempo  of 
speaking,  which  is  also  not  difficult  if  the  flutes  will  follow 
you  and  her.  When  the  Chorus  answers  the  speaker 
in  the  Melodramas  again  there  must  not  be  the  least 
interruption  or  pause,  and  their  singing  must  come  in 
immediately  after  the  last  word  spoken,  while  the  pre- 
ceding chord  of  the  Orchestra  must  already  have  been 
heard  during  the  last  phrase.  Then  there  is  the  acting 
of  the  choruses,  which  is  still  important.  They  must 
but  very  seldom  (as  for  instance  during  the  Solo  in 
Quartet  in  G)  be  quite  without  motion,  and  then  also 
they  must  stand  in  groups,  fiat  in  the  usual  theatrical 
rows;  but  this  I  hope  will  have  been  well  managed 
in  France,  from  where  you  have  the  direction  I  believe. 
For  example,  at  the  beginning  of  Chorus  i,  the  singers 
must  not  be  seen  before  the  ist  chord,  then  they  must 
come  two  by  two,  while  they  sing  the  beginning  and 
must  wander  quickly  round  the  altar  during  the  whole 
of  the  4-4,  but  when  the  2-4  begins  they  must  be  m 
their  places  ;  and  the  singers  of  the  2d  chorus  must 
also  not  be  seen,  but  after  the  end  of  this  2-4,  when  they 

K  2 


11 


n 


132 


LETTERS. 


come  in  quite  in  the  same  way  and  do  the  same  as 
the  others  &c.  &c.  The  acting  of  the  Chorus  to 
Bacchus  in  D  must  be  very  lively  towards  the  end, 
when  those  who  sing  "Hear  us,  Bacchus"  must  always 
wave  their  sticks  and  even  go  up  the  steps  of  the 
altar  the  last  time,  while  the  others  who  continue  with 
the  other  words  may  stand  in  a  row  in  front  (in  the 
background)  until  their  turn  comes  to  sing  "  Hear  us, 
Bacchus,"  when  the  order  is  reversed,  until  it  ends 
with  a  very  animated  group  round  the  Altar,  which  is 
disturbed  by  the  messenger  &c.  &c. 

Pray  excuse  this  long  analysis  ;  but  you  would  have 
it !  And  as  for  Israel  and  the  other  copy  of  the 
works,  do  you  not  think  you  could  find  an  opportunity 
for  sending  them  to  me  at  this  place !  I  intend  to  stay 
here  till  next  Autumn,  if  all  goes  as  I  wish  it;  and  there 
are  so  many  of  your  countrymen,  who  visit  this  part  of 
Germany !  I  also  hope  to  send  you  the  King  of 
Saxony's  name  as  a  Subscriber  to  the  Society  very 
shortly,  but  I  must  have  a  prospectus  first,  and  could 
not  get  one  at  Dresden.  Pray  send  me  one,  and  I  hope 
to  arrange  the  matter  directly  and  easily.  Did  your 
negociations  with  Messrs.  Breitkopf  and  Hartel  about 
the  Handel  Society  lead  to  no  result  ? 
But  enough.     Believe  me  always  yours, 

Felix  Mendelssohn  Bartholdy. 


j 


1 


i  ? 


i 


"HANDEL   SOCIETY." 


»3S 


HI. 

The  following  seven  letters  refer  to  the   FuU 
Score   of    Handel's    **  Israel    in    Egypt,"    which 
Mendelssohn  edited,  with  an  Organ  part  of  his 
own,   for   the   "  Handel    Society" — instituted    in 
April  1843.     Mendelssohn  collated  an  old  printed 
copy   of    "  Israel"    with    the    autograph    of   the 
work  at  Buckingham  Palace,  wrote  the  proposed 
organ  part,  arranged  a  pianoforte  accompaniment 
for   use   in   the   absence   of    the   orchestra,   and 
submitted    the    complete    copy   to    the    Council 
of  the  Society  on  the  8th  of  July,  1845.     During 
the  correction  of  the  proofs,  the    Council   were 
very   persistent   in    requiring    uniformity    as    to 
details  with  those  that  had  already  been  issued. 
One   of  these   points  resulted   in   the   following 
minute,  dated   June    30,    1864: — ''Letters   were 
produced  from  Sir  H.   Bishop,  Signor  Pistrucci, 
and  Count  Pepoli ;  and  several  other  authorities 
were   adduced   as   to   the  gender  and   the   con- 


134 


LETTERS. 


y  ft 


struction  of  the  plural  of  the  word  '  Oboe. 
It  was  consequently  resolved,  '*  That  the  authori- 
ties before  the  meetinor  leave  no  doubt  that  the 
word  'Oboe'  is  masculine,  and  that  the  termina- 
tion of  the  plural  is  the  same  as  the  singular. 
The  word  shall  therefore  be  always  thus  em- 
ployed in  the  future  productions  of  the  Society, 
and  the  instances  where  it  has  been  hitherto 
falsely  declined  shall  be  corrected  in  the  plates." 
In  Letter  No.  ii  Mendelssohn  alludes  to 
this  important  subject,  which  had  been  long 
under  discussion. 

(9.)     To  the  Handel  Society. 

(Original. ) 

« 

Frankfort,  ist  Marc/i,  1845. 

Gentlemen, 

Yesterday  I  received  the  King  of  Saxony^s 
answer,  saying  that  he  will  become  a  subscriber  to  the 
Handel  Society,  and  that  he  has  sent  an  order  to  his 
Embassy  in  London  to  pay  the  annual  subscription 
for  him.  Most  probably  they  will  also  forward  the 
copies  of  those  works  that  are  already  published  and 
of  the  future  publications  to  the  King. 


I 


•'HANDEL   society." 


i^ 


.53 


Some  months  ago  when  my  friend  Klingemann 
passed  by  this  place  I  had  just  received  a  letter  from 
Messrs.  Breitkopf  &  Härtel  about  the  Handel  Society, 
stating  the  difficulty  of  getting  the  copies  over  without 
much  cKpence  to  the  subscribers,  and  that  this  was  the 
great  drawback  to  the  undertaking  in  Germany.  I  talked 
the  matter  over  with  my  friend,  and  asked  him  whether 
Mr.  Bunsen,  the  Prussian  Ambassador,  who  is  himself  one 
of  Handel's  greatest  admirers,  and  has  so  often  oppor- 
tunities for  sending  large  packages  and  parcels  to  this 
country,  could  not  find  a  way  for  sending  copies  belong- 
ing to  German  subscribers  to  so^ne  place  in  Germany, 
either  Hamburgh,  or  Cologne,  or  any  other  (for  the 
postage  from  thef^e  would  be  no  matter).  My  friend 
thought  it  very  probable  that  Mr.  Bunsen  might  ofYer 
his  assistance  in  such  a  way  and  I  thought  it  my  duty 
to  inform  you  of  this,  and  leave  it  to  you,  whether  you 
will  talk  over  this  matter  with  Mr.  Klingemann  (4, 
Hobart  Place,  Eaton  Square)  and  enquire  through  him 
at  Mr.  Bunsen's,  which  I  think  better  than  a  direct 
question.  At  any  rate  Mr.  Bunsen  would  forward  those 
copies  which  belong  to  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  the 
Cathedral  Society  at  Berlin  (and  also  pay  the  subscrip- 
tion for  these  two,  I  dare  say).  They  were  ordered  by 
Count  Redern,  to  whom  I  applied  for  it  at  Berlin. 

Finally  let   me  ask   you  to  send  me   the  proofs  of 


i'-jy»**« 


U6 


LETTERS. 


Israel  in  Egypt,  if  you  possibly  can,  in  the  course  of 
the  next  3  months.  I  remain  here  till  July  and  have 
much  leisure  to  correct  them  accurately  just  now, 
besides  it  is  much  easier  for  you  to  send  them  over  here 
than  to  any  other  place  in  Germany  where  I  may  go  to 
hereafter. 

I  therefore  hope  you  will  comply  with  my  request  if 
you  possibly  can,  and  am,  Gentlemen, 

Your  most  Obedient  Servant, 

Felix  Mendelssohn  Bartholdy. 


(10.)    To  William  Sterndale  Bennett,  Esq.  * 

(Translation.) 

Frankfurt  A.M.  26  May  1845. 

Mv  DEAR  Bennett, 

Many  thanks  for  your  kind  letter — ach  nein,  ich 
will  lieber  Deutsch  schreiben.  [The  letter  then  proceeds 
in  German,  of  which  the  following  is  a  translation.] 

Now  I  have  a  request,  dear  Bennett,  with  which  I 
certainly  ought  not  to  come  in  the  middle  of  a  London 
Season,  but  which  I  still  make  because  I  hope  you  are 
not   too   much  worried,  and  you  will  do   me  a   great 


*  From   the   ori 
Bennett. 


iginal  in    the  possession   of  Sir  W.   Sterndale 


I 

I 


I 


«'ISRAEL   IN   EGYPT." 


137 


kindness  thereby.  Would  you  get  Mr.  Anderson  to 
show  you  Handel's  original  MS.  of  Israel  in  Egypt,* 
and  look  at  a  few  notes  in  it  about  which  I  am  doubtful, 
and  write  me  a  line  about  it }  These  doubtful  notes 
are  as  follows: — (i)  In  the  Hailstone  Chorus,  the  first 
note  which  the  second  trumpet  has  to  play,  is  it  in  Handel 
A  or  G  .^  (2)  In  the  third  chorus  after  that,  "  But  as  for 
his  people,"  i/ie  fojtrth  note  before  the  close,  is  it  in  the 

?  (3)  In  the 


viola  D  or  E  .?  ^-\p^\'^ 


or 


±±t 


rci  :i2 


t: 


following  chorus,  *'  Egypt  was  glad,"  in  the  sixth   bar 
before    the  close,   \s   the   second    violin   so    fr^-j:«rjii:::  ? 


oi"  !E^:i^i  ?  (4)  In  the  chorus,  "  But  the  waters 
overwhelmed  them,"  the  second  note  hi  the  <^th  bar 
before  the  close,  is  it  in  the  second  violin  D  or  E   flat  .-^ 


-r 


If  it  is  possible  for  you,  pray  answer  me  these  four 
questions — but  don't  be  angry  with  me.  When  I  think 
of  your  Concert  on  the  24th  of  June  I  declare  I  would 
rather  withdraw  my  whole  request 

Hoping  that  we  may  soon  meet  again. 

Always  your 

Felix  Mendelssohn  Bartholdy. 

*  In  the  Royal  Library  at  Buckingham  Palace. 


138 


LETTERS. 


(ii.)    To  G.  A.  Macfarren,  Esq. 

(Original.) 

Leipzig,   28///  September  1845. 

My  dear  Sir, 

I  received  the  proofs  of  the  2nd  Act  of  Israel, 
the  day  before  yesterday  (with  your  letter  dated  6th 
July)  and  as  you  referred  me  in  your  letter  of  the 
2nd  Sept.  to  these  proofs,  I  was  not  able  to  return  an 
answer  before  I  had  received  them.  Now  I  receive 
to-day  your  last  letter  of  the  22nd,  and  hasten  to  write, 
although  my  leisure  time  of  this  summer  is  now  over, 
and  I  can  only  write  in  great  hurry,  which  I  beg  you 
will  excuse. 

The  alterations  of  which  you  tell  me  may  be  made, 
as  they  relate  to  mere  matters  of  form,  and  I  will  alter 
the  Preface  accordingly.  Therefore  the  titles  of  the 
several  pieces  may  stand  as  a  heading  to  each  in  the 
1st  Act,  in  the  same  manner  you  have  marked  in  the 
proofs  of  the  2nd.  Then  the  footnotes  page  i,  22  and 
192  may  be  expunged  and  I  shall  confine  them  (and 
those  I  may  have  to  make  still  for  the  2nd  Act)  to  the 
preface.  The  Hautboys  may  also  be  called  girls  instead 
of  boys,  although  the  Dictionary  which  I  carefully  con- 
sulted before  I  made  the  correction  most  distinctly  said 
the  word  Oboe  was   masculine.     Never  mind  all  these 


♦«ISRAEL   IN   EGYPT." 


139 


things,  and  you  may  have  the  ist  part  printed  as  soon 

as  you  like. 

But  pray  be  sure  that  no  more  alterations  be  Intro- 
duced, and  at  any  rate  not  one  with  which  I  am  not 
previously  acquainted,  (may  they  relate  to  matters  of 
form  or  not,  to  the  text  of  the  music  or  to  the 
Preface). 

I  am  busily  correcting  the  proofs  of  the  2nd  Act 
every  free  hour  I  can  find.  I  hope  to  have  done  with 
it  in  the  course  of  next  week,  and  shall  then  immediately 
send  it  to  Mess.  Hüttner  at  Hamburgh  for  Mr.  Buxton, 
your  Auditor. 

I  have  only  time  to  add  my  best  thanks  for  the  great 
trouble  you  have  again  taken  on  my  account  with  the 
2nd  part,  but  I  shall  write  you  at  length  (particularly 
an  answer  to  the  last  part  of  your  letter,  which  interests 
me  very  much  and  which  I  shall  endeavour  to  answer 
at  once  satisfactorily)  and  privately  when  I  send  back 
the  2d.  part  proofs.     Excuse  these  hasty  lines ; 

Always  yours  very  truly, 

Felix  Mendelssohn  Bartholdy. 


•  f 


I40 


LETTERS. 


(i2.)      To  the  Same. 

(Original.) 

Leipzig,  October  1845. 

My  dear  Sir, 

I  hav^e  finished  the  corrections  of  the  2d  part  of 
Israel,   and   send    it  to   you  with   this   letter.       There 
are  so  many  faults  in  it,  that  a  good  and  exact  edition 
can  only  be  obtained   if  you  will   have  the  kindness  to 
use  the  utmost  care  in  examining-  the  places  where  the 
corrections  are  made    in    the   plates.     I   hope  you  will 
do  me  this  favour ;  for  if  not  I  should  despair  of  the 
edition  becoming  a  good   one,  and  should  consider  the 
time  which  I  devoted  to  it  (and   now  even  with  much 
difficulty)  as  entirely  lost,  or  worse    than  that.     There 
are  many  places  where  the  engraver  arbitrarily  deviated 
from  the  copy  which  I  prepared  with  the  greatest  care 
for   this    edition,    and   where   these   deviations   become 
faults.     This  is   the  case   on   the  very  first  page  of  the 
second  part ;  as  it  stands  engraved,  nobody  could  guess 
that  the  "Organo"  is  meant  to  play  the  first  C,  and  to 
have  the  subsequent  pauses  ;  besides  on  the  2nd  page 
the  stafif  for  the  "Organo"  would  come  in  without  an 
inscription,   and    nobody  would   know  what   it  means ; 
then  the  ist  page  would  look  as  if  the  Violoncelli  had 
to  play  those  notes  alone,  and  the   Contra-Bassi  only 


ENGRAVERS'   MISTAKES. 


141 


the  first  C — in  short  the  whole  thing  is  one  confusion, 
— is  wrong  by  the  deviation  from  the  old  copy  which 
is  quite  distinct  and  right.  This  will  be  easily  altered, 
but  a  more  difficult  and  expensive  alteration  will  be 
necessary  for  the  Chorus,  "  And  I  wüll  exalt  him," 
p.  197-208.  I  wrote  the  reasons  why  I  cannot  allow 
this  deviation  under  the  beginning  of  that  Chorus ;  the 
mistake  at  the  beginning  and  page  203,  204,  &c.,  are 
quite  ridiculous,  and  as  much  as  I  regret  to  give  the 
engraver  and  the  Society  so  much  trouble  I  cannot  help 
it,  and  he  must  engrave  it  with  one  liiie  (for  Organo  and 
Bassi)  while  he  must  engrave  the  first  page  of  the 
second  part  with  two  lines.  Another  correction  which 
I  had  to  make  through  the  whole  of  the  Oratorio,  and 
which  I  cannot  allow  to  stand,  although  it  seems  most 
insignificant,  is  the  constant  use  of  slurs  which  the 
engraver  always  placed  over  two  notes  (quavers  or  semi- 
quavers generally)  which  are  to  be  sung  on  one  word 
(for  instance  page  216,  bar  4,  6,  8,  page  340,  bar  2,  &c.). 
I  say  it  seems  insignificant,  but  it  IS  NOT,  as  I  am  sure 
that  slurs  are  used  in  such  cases  (in  ancient,  particularly 
in  Bach's  and  Handel's,  music)  as  a  characteristic  sign 
for  the  expression,  much  as  we  would  use  this  sign  : 

•  •  *  *  * 

^^^^Pi^cifz  -^^  ^"^^  ^  pause  Is  not  meant,  they  do 
not  place  the  slur  over  the  notes,  because   it  is  quite 


142 


LETTERS. 


unnecessary^   the    manner   of  uniting   the   quavers   and 

semiquavers  (jj  5;  ,  instead  of  J^J^\  indicating  clearly 

enough  that  they  are  to  be  sung  on  the  same  syllable. 
Another  thing  which  must  be  carefully  done  is  to  add 
always  '*by  the  Editor,"  to  that  part  of  "Organo"  which 
is  mine  ;  if  this  is  omitted,  the  misunderstandings  which 
aheady  exist  about  Handel's  Organ  parts  will  be  in- 
creased to  a  most  fearful  extent,  notwithstanding  the 
explanation  in  the  Preface  :  people  will  believe  he  has 
written  two,  or  he  has  written  mine,  or  he  has  written 
none,  or  I  do  not  know  what.  Therefore  pray  be  sure 
this  explanation  is  7iever  omitted  in  the  score  (also  not 
in  the  first  part,  I  hope,  where  I  carefully  added  it  when 
I  corrected  it).  Many  faults  have  also  occurred  in  the 
Pianoforte  adaptation;  although  I  did  not  receive  the 
Original  of  this  I  believe  that  the  greater  part  of  them 
are  my  faults  not  the  engraver's,  and  I  beg  his  and  your 
pardon  for  it,  but  hope  nevertheless  that  they  will  be 
most  carefully  corrected.  The  same  with  the  Organo 
(by  the  Editor)  of  which  I  did  not  receive  the  most 
important  pieces  (inlaid  leaves)  and  which  I  wish  to  be 
as  correct  as  possible,  because  I  bear  the  responsibility 

of  it. 

Now,  my  dear  Sir,  I  come  to  those  places  where  you 
indicated  to  me  the  suggestions  of  the  Council.     I  wrote 


HANDEL'S    ORGAN.PARTS. 


143 


my  answers  under  your  remarks  to  save  time,  but  I  beg 
you  will  erase  tJie  wJiole  (remarks  and  answers)  before 
you  give  the  Copy  into  the  Engraver's  hands,  because 
I  really  should  not  like  anybody  but  you  to  become 
acquainted  with  these  things.  Indeed  the  reasons  I 
give  are  most  especially  for  you  and  for  nobody  else, 
and  if  that  had  not  been  the  case,  I  would  have  plainly 
said  that  so  and  so  was  my  opinion,  (because  nobody 
shared  the  responsibility  of  an  Edition  which  bears  my 
name).  It  was  painful  to  me  not  to  be  able  to  agree 
with  the  Council  in  some  of  their  suggestions,  you  will 
see  in  looking  over  the  Preface  (as  altered  now)  that  I 
have  done  whatever  I  could,  in  introducing  all  those 
alterations  which  relate  to  the  English  language  (of 
which  I  cannot  judge)  and  others  which  have,  to  my 
opinion,  the  greater  probability.  But  in  those  cases  in 
which  I  am  of  a  different  opinion  I  could  not  adopt  the 
reading  of  the  Council  (although  the  difference  may 
only  consist  in  trifles)  and  as  I  have  not  been  able  to 
change  my  opinion  in  these  cases,  after  duly  considering 
and  sincerely  wishing  it,  I  beg  the  Corrections  will  stand 
as  marked  by  me  in  this  Copy. 

Indeed  I  must  rely  on  your  complying  with  this  wish 
of  mine,  for  I  cannot  give  my  name  to  anything  (and  if 
it  was  but  a  trifling  thing)  which  I  do  not  consider  right 
and  true  myself  at  that  moment.     The  same  is  the  case 


I  i 


144 


LETTERS. 


''ISRAEL  IN   EGYPT." 


145 


with  the  Preface.  I  have  altered  as  much  as  I  could  ; 
if  other  things  must  still  be  altered  for  the  sake  of  a 
good  English  style  (although  nobody  expects  such  a 
thing  from  me)  tell  me  so,  and  we  will  again  correspond 
on  this  eternal  and  not  very  pleasant  and  musical  sub- 
ject. But  do  not  introduce  in  the  Preface  nor  in  the 
Score  any  alterations  with  which  I  did  not  agree,  and 
which  I  have  not  seen  first. 

I  heartily  hope  you  might  say  ''Yes"  at  once  to  these 
my  requests,  and  we  might  not  be  forced  again  into  this 
sort  of  unmusical  Correspondence  which  we  both  equally 
dislike,  I  am  sure,  and  which  I  should  be  most  happy  to 
see  at  an  end. 

Very  truly  yours, 

P'ELix  Mendelssohn  Bartiioldy. 


(13.)     To  tJie  Same, 

(Original.) 

Leipsic,   31  Dec.   1845. 

My  dear  Sir, 

I  received  your  letter  this  day  week  and  it  is 
already  several  days  since  I  sent  my  answer  by  way  of 
Hamburgh  under  your  direction  to  Mess.  Ewer  &  Co. 
I  send  this  letter  now  by  post,  that  you  may  have  it  still 
sooner  if  possible.     My  answer  to  your  former  questions 


j 


\\ 


is  contained  in  detail  in  the  Hamburgh  letter.  To  the 
words  about  "the  narrative  which  forms  the  subject"  I 
have  no  objection  and  they  may  be  inserted  at  the  head 
of  the  text  of  the  Oratorio  (but  not  in  the  Score,  or  else 
you  must  write  "  Council,"  or  "  Ed."  or  what  you  like 
under  it).     But  enough. 

Many,  many  good  wishes  for  your  Opera!  May  it 
succeed  and  give  you  and  your  friends  pleasure  and 
many  happy  hours  in  1846  and  1856  and  so  on ! 

Always  yours  very  truly, 

Felix  Mendelssohn  Bartholdy. 


(14.)    To  the  Same. 

(Original. ) 

Leipsic,  ^rd  April,  1846. 

My  dear  Sir, 

The  businesses  (musical  and  others)  with  which  I 
am  surrounded  here  are  so  numerous  that  I  am  totally 
unable  to  write  letters.  I  therefore  delivered  your 
enclosures  to  the  Editors  here,  and  in  a  letter,  which  I 
had  to  write  to  Mr.  Buxton,  requested  him  to  answer 
those  points  of  your  letter  which  you  now  repeat  to  me. 
I  do  not  understand  why  Mr.  Buxton  did  not  communi- 
cate to  vou  mv  answer  as  I  wrote  it  to  him,  and  I  write 

L 


146 


LETTERS. 


now  in  great  haste  the  same  to  you.  You  may  send  the 
money  in  any  (safe)  way  you  like — it  is  not  for  me  to 
name  any  and  I  leave  it  to  you — if  I  should  propose  one 
it  would  be,  to  pay  it  to  Mr.  Buxton  who  could  then 
have  it  paid  at  Hamburgh  to  my  brother's  house,  as  he 
often  did — but  any  other  way  is  equally  agreeable  to 
me.  If  you  have  the  impression  that  I  wished  or 
consented  to  become  a  Member  of  the  Handel  Society, 
then  of  course  you  may  deduct  three  Guineas  for  three 
years  subscription  but  I  beg  at  the  same  time  you  will 
send  the  publications  of  these  3  years  to  Mr.  Buxton  to 
keep  them  for  me,  as  I  did  not  receive  one  volume  till 
now.  The  reasons  why  you  want  me  to  be  a  subscriber 
are  very  flattering  and  I  thank  you  for  saying  so,  but 
I  can  only  repeat  what  I  wrote  already  to  you  on  that 
subject — that  I  have  already  one  complete  edition  and 
very  many  single  volumes  of  Handel's  works,  and  that 
I  therefore  do  not  intend  to  have,  nor  indeed  can  I  find 
room  for  a  third  Edition  in  my  librar}^  It  would  there- 
fore not  be  consistent  with  truth  if  my  name  was  kept 
in  future  on  the  subscribers'  lists,  without  my  having 
subscribed    in  reality,  which,  (I  must  repeat  it)  I    am 

not  able  to  do I  am    my    dear    Sir,  very 

truly  yours, 

Felix  Mendelssohn  Bartholdy. 


V 


i 


"LSRAEL  IN   EGYPT." 


147 


(15.)     To  the  Same. 

(Original.) 

Leipzig,  28  December  1845. 

My  dear  Sir, 

I  hasten  to  reply  to  your  letter  (which  you  wrote 
to  me  as  Secretary  of  the  Handel  Society)  and  which 
I  received  yesterday.  Have  many,  many  thanks  for  the 
trouble  you  take  in  correcting  and  recorrecting  the 
proofs  of  Israel  in  Egypt  as  you  have  done ;  but  this 
obligation  I  have,  (if  I  am-  not  mistaken)  to  Mr. 
Macfarren,  and  not  to  the  Secretary,  and  my  thanks  to 
you  I  hope  to  express  better  in  another  and  more 
pleasant  letter  than  this  can  be. 

As  I  told  you  in  my  last  letter  I  wish  to  end  the 
communications  I  have  had  with  "  the  Council "  on 
this  subject,  and  am  therefore  very  glad  you  tell  me 
that  the  6  points  about  which  you  question  me  are  to  be 
settled  among  ns  two,  and  not  to  be  brought  again 
before  any  Council.  /  rely  on  your  word  in  this  assur- 
ance, for  if  this  was  not  the  case  I  would  only  say  that 
I  expressed  my  opinion  in  my  last  letter  (viz.  to  give 
way  to  everything  which  regards  the  English  language 
or  my  personal  authority,  and  in  none  which  regards 
Handel's  authority.)     But  as  zve  have  to  settle  it,  I  go 

L  2 


148 


LETTERS. 


most  willingly  through  the  six  points.     Pray  let  it  be 
the  last  time  that  I  must  correspond  on  this  subject. 

1.  Instead  of  'pauses  in  the  Contrabass!'  say  'rests' 
and  instead  of  'lay  before  the  public'  say  'the  mem- 
bers' or  '  the  Society'  as  you  think  best. 

2.  The  double  bar  after  the  Chorus  '  He  is  my  God ' 
must  stand  if  it  is  in  Handel's  manuscript,  and  fall  if  it 
is  not  in  it  (for  I  will  neither  add  nor  take  out  anything 
for  '  uniformity's  sake ') ;  I  corrected  the  first  (Arnold's) 
Copy,  after  which  this  new  Copy  was  engraved  note  by 
note,  after  Handel's  manuscript.  If  then  the  double  bar 
is  in  this  (Arnold's)  Copy,  I  think  it  probable  that  the 
same  is  the  case  in  Handel's.  But  if  you  will  compare 
this  last,  which  you  can  easily  I  fancy,  you  will  greatly 
oblicre  me,  and  the  matter  will  be  settled  at  once. 

3.  I  am  sorry  to  have  given  you  the  trouble  of  copy- 
ing out  the  bass  parts  of  the  Chorus  "  I  will  exalt  him." 
But  I  must  repeat  what  I  said  in  my  last  letter,  and 
none  of  the  reasons  you  can  tell  me  can  satisfy  me 
to  go  against  Handel's  manuscript  in  this  case.  The 
rests  at  the  beginning  (in  the  Bass  part)  could  be  placed 
there  without  any  doubt,  as  Handel  writes  at  the  begin- 
ning- 'senza  Violins  and  Bassoons'  (although  he  does 
7iot  mention  the  Violoncelli) — but  in  the  middle  of  the 
Chorus,  the  Violoncelli  and  Bassoons  (Fagotti)  might 
most  probably  be  meant  to  play  the  same  (Tcnore  &c.) 


LOYAL   TO    HANDEL.     NO   TROMBONES. 


149 


notes  as  the  Organ  (at  least  I,  for  one,  would  make 
them  play  them)— and  therefore  the  rests  are  not  jus- 
tified those.     Pray  then  let  the  plates  be  re-engraved. 

4.  The  same  with  regard  to  the  Contra-bassi  at  the 
end  of  "Thou  didst  blow,"  viz.  let  it  be  engraved 
as  in  Handel's  manuscript  (in  the  corrected  (Arnold) 
copy)  without  these  Contrabassi.  /  knozv  that  the 
custom  is  in  England  to  let  them  play  the  last  Sym- 
phony,— but  in  Germany  it  is  customary  to  let  them 
play  the  same  thing  throughout  the  whole  Song,  where- 
ever  the  subject  is  repeated,  (almost  continually  then) 
and  I  like  the  "  effect "  of  it  very  much.  Who  is  right } 
Why  not  adopt  the  German  reading  as  well  as  the 
Eno-lish.?     /  cannot  decide  it.      Handel   is  right   most 

probably. 

5.  I  will  not  write  Trombone  parts.  I  wish  not  to 
prolong  the  Correspondence,  as  I  told  you,  or  else 
I  should  be  tempted  to  tell  you  my  candid  opinion 
of  this  "  Trombone  "-decision  of  the  Council,  which 
you  now  communicated  to  me.  Perhaps  I  shall  do  so 
in  a  letter  which  I  shall  soon  write  to  you,  (not  to  the 
Secretary,  but  the  musician). 

6.  Announce  my  name  without  any  titles  at  all. 
And  now  let  me  not  add  another  word  but  merely 

say  that  I  am  and  remain  very  truly  yours, 

Felix  Mendelssohn  Bartholdy. 


ISO 


LETTERS. 


III. 

(l6.)    To  the  HOFRATH  FRIEDRICH  ROCHLITZ,  Leipsic* 

(Translation.) 

DÜSSELDORF,  February  25,  1835. 

Hochgeehrter  Herr  Hofrath, 

I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  last 
kind  letter,  and  for  the  announcement  it  brinc^s  me  of 
the  fulfilment  of  what  was  formerly  but  an  uncertain 
hope,  as  well  as  for  the  distinction  you  have  awarded 
me  above  other  composers, — which  is  for  mc  the  greatest 
pleasure  and  honour.  You  must  be  aware  what  a  gift 
you  bestow  on  a  musician  in  such  a  work,  and  can 
therefore  imagine  how  very  grateful  I  am  to  you  for  it. 
The  Oratorio  on  which  I  am  now  occupied,  will,  please 
God,  be  finished  in  about  three  months ;  and  as  soon 
as  I  have  taken  breath  again  for  so  important  a  task, 
and  have  finished  some  things  which  I  must  undertake 
directly  afterwards,  I  shall  be  delighted  to  begin  another 
work  of  the  kind.  It  is  true  this  may  not  be  before 
next  winter,  but  you  say  yourself  that  it  need  not  be 
written  immediately,  so  I  accept  your  kindness  with  the 
utmost  gratitude,  and  am  now  all  eagerness  to  get  your 

*  Autograph  in  the  possession  of  Madame  Preusser,  daughter 
of  Rochlitz,  and  an  old  and  valued  friend  of  Mendelssohn. 


ORATORIOS.     "ST.    PAUL.' 


151 


next  letter,  and  hear  what  your  subject  is.  Pray  do  not 
leave  me  long  in  uncertainty,  for  what  you  say  about 
it  only  makes  my  impatience  the  greater ;  and  if  the 
subject  be  in  itself  attractive  to  me,  there  is  hardly  any 
doubt  but  that  your  treatment  of  it  must  make  it  still 

more  so. 

The   subject  of  my  present  Oratorio   is  "St.  Paul." 
It  begins  with  his  presence  at  Stephen's  trial ;  and  this, 
with  his  persecution  of  the  Church  and  his  conversion  as 
far  as  the  conversation  with  Ananias,  forms  the  first  part ; 
the  chief  points  in  his  after  life— the  conversion  of  the 
heathen,    the   worship   offered    him   at   Lystra,  his    im- 
prisonment with    Silas,  the  parting  with  the  elders   at 
Ephesus— constitute   the   second    and  last  part.      It  is 
compiled  throughout  entirely  from  the  Bible  words,  and 
whilst  writing  it  I  have  felt  with  renewed  pleasure  how 
forcible,    how    exhaustive,    and    how    harmonious    the 
Scripture  language  is  for  music.     There  is  an  inimitable 
force  in  it,  and  a  rhythm  which  has  often  seemed  of 
itself  to  suggest  the  music  to  me.     I  hope  to  hear  my 
music  for  the  first  time  this  autumn  in  Frankfort,  per- 
formed by  the  '^  Cäcilicn-Vercin ^    and  even  though  I 
may  find  plenty  of  things  in  it  which  I  should  have  to 
avoid   in   yours,   and   many   errors   and   faults,   I  look 
forward  to  it  with  all  my  heart.     But  enough  of  this, 
and  now  I  will  only  add  a  request  for  an  early  answer. 


152 


LETTERS. 


FORTY-SECOND  PSALM.  COLOGNE. 


153 


which  I  await  with  the  greatest  impatience.  Pray 
receive  again  my  best  thanks  for  your  kindness,  and 
accept  the  esteem  and  respect  of  yours  faithfully, 

Felix  Mendelssohn  Bartholdy. 


(17.)    To  Mr.  J.  Alfred  Novello,  London^ 

(Original. ) 

Leipzig,  ith  Aprils  183S. 

My  dear  Sir, 

I  gave  Colonel  Chatterton's  bandmaster  the 
money,  according  to  your  wishes,  and  hope  he  arrived  in 
your  country,  and  found  his  way  through  the  difficulties 
he  must  have  met  with  by  sea  and  by  land,  to 
Manchester. 

I  wish  I  could  send  you  the  wished-for  composition 
of  the  set  of  words  you  sent  me  ;  but  it  is  altogether 
impossible  for  me  to  do  anything  in  the  way  of  prize 
composition  ;  I  cannot  do  it,  if  I  would  force  myself  to 
it ;  and  when  I  was  compelled  to  do  so,  when  a  boy, 
in  competition  with  my  sister  and  fellow-scholars,  my 
works  were  always  wonders  of  stupidity — not  the  tenth 
part  of  what  I  could  do  otherwise.     I  think  that  is  the 

*  From  the  original  in  possession  of  Mr.  Novello.     Some  words 
in  the  letter  are  now  illegible. 


reason  why  I  felt  afterwards  such  an  antipathy  to  prize- 
fighting in  music,  that  I  made  a  rule  never  to  participate 
in'' it.  Excuse  me  therefore,  I  should  like  to  do  as  you 
wish  me  if  I  possibly  could. 

Breitkopf  and  Hartel  will  send  you  the  Pianoforte 
arrangement  of  my  Psalm*  in  very  short  time,  and  write 
you  about  it.  They  wish  to  print  the  full  score  with 
the  English  words,  as  I  think  you  will  publish  it  in 
England.  Send  them  the  English  translation  as  soon 
as  ''you  have  it.  I  looked  at  the  English  Bible  and 
found  the  words  would  do  with  some  alteration.  These 
of  course  must  be  cleverly  made,  and  at  all  events  I 
wish  you  will  stick  to  the  words  of  the  Bible  as  much  as 
you  can.  Show  Mr.  Klingemann  the  translation  before 
you  adopt  it.     I  think  you  will  like  this  Psalm. 

As  for  my  old  Service  which  you  will  publish  at 
present  ...  I  beg  you  will  write  once  more  about  it 
if  you  want  it,  as  I  must  copy  it  out  afresh  and  could 
bring  it  with  me  and  hand  it  over  to  you  at  Cologne. 
Now  you  really  must  come  to  Cologne,t  and  your  plan 
of  bringing  .  .  .  with  you  and  of  accepting  the  prospect 
of  music  and  .  .  .  is  most  excellent.  Pray  do  come  ;  I 
am  so  sure  you  will  care  for  the  music.  I  do  not  know 
yet  how   the  performance   will    go   off;    we   have   the 

*  The  42nd  Psalm—"  As  the  hart  pants."     (Op.  42.) 
f  For  the  Lower- Rhine  music-festival  of  1838. 


154 


LETTERS. 


AN   OPERA-BOOK. 


155 


whole  festival  made  up  of  seldom-performed  music  ; 
but  there  is  a  glorious  Cantata  of  [Sebastian  Bach's] 
amongst  the  number,  with  a  double  chorus  in  it,  which 
would  repay  for  the  journey  by  itself  And  the  Rhein- 
wein, and  [besides]  that  the  whole  Oratorio  of  Joshua. 
[Bach's]  new  Cantata  and  Cologne's  old  Cathedral  and 
the  gay  green  Rhein,  I  hope  you  will  not  resist  all  these 
attractions  and  be  sure  to  come  over;  and  a  most  hearty 
welcome  you  shall  have.  My  wife's  best  compliments  ; 
my  boy  is  a  wonderful  creature  for  eating  and  sleeping, 
crying  into  the  bargain ;  but  in  excellent  health  which 
is  the  best  of  all. 

I  am  always  very  truly  yours, 

Felix  Mendelssohn  Bartiioldv. 


(18.)  To  Herr  Anton  Zuccalmaglio. 

(Translation. ) 

Leipzig,  Z)cr^w/;^  4,  1839. 

Hochgeehrter  Herr, 

I  have  long  wanted  to  write  and  thank  you  for 
your  kind  letter,  and  for  the  beautiful  poem,  which  has 
been  in  my  hands  since  the  end  of  September.  •  Pray 
forgive  this  long  delay;  in  intention  I  have  written 
to  you  many  a  time,  long  since,  but  my  days  here  have 


been  far  too  full  of  interruptions  of  all  sorts,  both 
private  and  public,  pleasant  and  unpleasant,  to  allow 
of  my  doing  it  actually. 

Now  that  things  are  a  little  quieter  my  first  object  is 
to  thank  you  heartily  for  all  your  kindness,  especially 
for   this    new   proof    of  it,  which  has  given  me   much 
pleasure.     Your  subject  is  very  poetic  and  beautiful,  and 
your  idea  of  the  opposing  voices,  of  the  warriors  and 
the  maidens,  and  the  disappearance  of  the  latter  and 
their  concealment  in  the  rock,  is  capitally  worked  out. 
But  I  have  one  objection  ;  it  seems  to  me  that  in  the 
poem   the  moment  of  the  actual  transformation    does 
not  stand   out   clearly  enough,  at  least  one   does   not 
clearly  understand  what  becomes  of  the  church  and  her 
proteges ;   and  I  confess  that  I  cannot  quite  make  out 
your  meaning  as  to   the  end    of  the  maidens  (in  the 
poem,  I  mean)  whether  they  are  enclosed  in  the  rock,  or 
whether  through  the  transformation  they  are  lifted  up 
''to  the  eates  of  Heaven."     Or  perhaps  my  objection 
springs   from  the  whole  form  of  the  poem,  and  could 
only  be  removed  by  a  visible  transformation  ?     Anyhow 
I  believe  even  one  verse  might  help  to  make  it  clearer  ; 
but  what  do  you  think.? 

I  would  gladly  have  sent  you  some  music  instead  of 
this  tiresome  letter,  but  I  have  so  little  time  to  myself 
in  the  winter.     The  Concerts  and  the  whole  way  of  life 


I 


156 


LETTERS. 


LEGEND   OF   GENOVEVA. 


157 


take  up  more  time  and  leisure  than  I  expected,  and  I  am 
glad  enough  if  in  my  spare  time  I  can  but  manage  to 
clear  up  my  unfinished  work,  leaving  the  beginning  of 
new  things  for  the  summer  months,  which  thus  become 
doubly  delightful.  Is  there  any  chance  of  your  coming 
to  see  us  again  soon  ?  and  for  longer  than  last  time  ? 
Please  write  me  a  few  lines,  and  tell  me  how  you  are  and 
what  you  are  doing.  I  should  also  be  so  glad  to  hear 
something  about  H.  Ernemann,  in  whose  fate  I  felt  much 
concerned  this  autumn  when  he  was  laid  up  at  Frank- 
fort, and  of  whom  I  have  since  heard  nothing.  Perhaps 
you  could  tell  me  something  about  him  ? 

With  the  greatest  esteem, 

Ever  yours  most  faithfully, 

Felix  Mendelssohn  Bartholdy. 


(19.)    To  Herr  Adolf  Boettger,  Lcipsic. 

(Translation. ) 

Berlin,  December  10,  1841. 

Hochgeehrter  Herr, 

Thank  you  sincerely  for  your  kind  letter,  which 
I  answer  with  all  the  frankness  that  an  object  of  such 
great  and  immediate  moment  so  emphatically  demands, 
provided  that  it  leads  us  to  the  end  in  view,  and  not 


■■1 


away  from  it.     I  have  frequently  thought  over  the  sub- 
ject of  the  Legend  of  St.  Genoveva,  which  you  propose, 
but   have   always   been  deterred  from  it  by  a   certain 
passiveness  in  the  character  or  at  least  in  the  action  of 
the  chief  personage.     By  which  I  mean  that  our  interest 
in  Genoveva  arises  more  from  what  she  suffers  and  the 
way  in  which  she  suffers  it,  than  from  what  she  does,  or 
from  any  dramatic  business  or  action  on  her  part.     For 
her  rejection   of  the  importunities  of  her  friend  really 
forms  only  the  starting  point  of  the  story,  and  is  cer- 
tainly not  its  chief  motive,  which  hes  in  the  suffering 
she  undergoes ;  and  therein  I  find — what  shall  I  say  t 
—something  weak  and  passive,  and    in    my  judgment 
quite  unfit  for  the  material  for  an  opera.     I  believe  that 
this  accounts  for  the  non-success  of  several  attempts  to 
treat  the  subject.     An  Opera  of  that  name  was  given 
here  a  short  time  *  since,  and  was  not  well  received  ; 
chiefly,   as  I  am   informed,  on   account  of  the  too  uni- 
formly elegiac  character  of  the  material.     But  perhaps 
you  would  treat  the  situations  so  as  to  give  a  different 
cast  to  all  this }     In  that  case  I  beg  you  to  give  me  a 
very  general  outline  of  the  way  in  which  you  would 
conceive  the  course  of  the  business.     But  I  can  hardly 

*  Schumann's  "  Genoveva"  was  completed  in  August  1848,  and 
produced  at  the  Leipsic  theatre  on  June  25,  1850.  The  reference 
in  the  text  is  therefore  to  some  other  composition. 


158 


LETTERS. 


believe  that  even  under  the  liveliest  treatment  any 
really  active  dramatic  life  could  be  thrown  into  the 
principal  personage,  or  a  really  original  and  character- 
istic development  given  to  the  subordinate  personages 
in  the  piece. 

Waiting    a    reply    at    your    convenience,    and    with 


great  esteem, 


I  am,  yours  faithfully, 
Felix  Mendelssohn  Bartholdy. 


(20.)  To  Professor  Wolfgang  R.  Grierenkerl, 

Drnnsiuick!^ 

(Translation.) 

Berlin,  Novcviber  i8,  1S44. 

Hochgeehrter  Herr, 

Many  thanks  for  your  kind  letter  of  the  iitli, 
from  which,  however,  I  regret  to  see  that  there  has  been 
some  mistake.  My  brother-in-law  told  me  a  few  weeks 
ago  that  you  had  written  or  were  proposing  to  write  a 
book  for  an  Opera,  and  asked  me  if  I  felt  inclined  to 
set  it  to  music.  Although  I  cannot  at  present  undertake 
an  Opera  on  account  of  many  other  works  in  progress, 
I  said  to  him  that  in  any  case  it  would  interest  me  much 

*  Autograph  in  the  possession  of  William  Mitchell,  Esq. 


opera-book,     the   ''TEMPEST." 


159 


to  make  acquaintance  with  your  poem,  and  that  it  would 
afford  me  great  satisfaction  if  you  were  inclined  to  send 
me  an  Opera  book. 

To  Shakespeare's  '*  Tempest,"  as  an  Opera,  I  have, 
I  confess,  little  inclination ;  nor  does  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem— at  least  as  I  have  hitherto  seen  it  treated— 
appear  to  me  fit  for  the  Theatre.  But  the  fact  is  that 
the  whole  matter  depends  more  on  the  /low  than  the 
7v/iat,  and  that  no  subject  can  be  either  accepted  or 
rejected  unconditionally.  One  important  thing  appears 
to  me  to  be  that  the  Composer  and  the  Poet  should 
meet,  if  only  for  a  short  time,  so  as  to  talk  over  and 
understand  the  thing.  Without  that  I  fear  that  there 
can  be  no  real  co-operation,  and  on  this  ground  alone  I 
•should  like  very  soon  to  meet  you  again. 

Hoping   that    my   wish    may   be   fulfilled,    and  with 

much  consideration. 

Yours  faithfully, 

Felix  Mendelssohn  Bartholdy. 


THE  end. 


K  ^ 


t^ 


X,^; 


f'G 


Bedford  Street,  Covent  Garden,  London, 

Aprils   1872. 


Macmillan  ^  Co:s  Catalogue  of  Works 
in  the  Departments  of  History,  Biography, 
a7id  Travels ;  Politics,  Political  and  Social 
Economy,  Lazu,  etc;  and  Works  connected 
with  Lanouacre,  With  some  short  Account 
or  Critical  Notice  concerning  each  Book. 


LONDON  : 

R     Cl.AT,    SONS,    AND   TAYLOR,    PRINHtRk, 

BKKAÜ    STKEKT    HH.L. 


HISTORY,  BIOGRAPHY,  and  TRAVELS. 

Baker    (Sir    Samuel    W.) — Works  by  Sir  Samuel  Baker 
M.A.,  F.R.G.S.:— 

THE  ALBERT  N'YANZA  Great  Basin  of  the  Nile,  and  Explora- 
tion of  the  Nile  Sources.     New  and  Cheaper  Edition.     Maps  and 
Illustrations.       Crown  8vo.    6j-. 
*^  Bruce  woji  the  source  of  the  Blue  Nile;  Speke  and  Grant  won  the 
Victoria  source  of  the  p'cat  White  Nile;   and  I  have  been  permitted  to 
succeed  in  completing  the  Nile   Sources   by  the  discovery  of  the  great 
reservoir  of  the  equatorial  waters,  the  Albert  N'yanza,  from  which  the 
river  issues  as  the  entire  White  iV//^."— Preface.      '' As  a  Macaulay 
arose  among  the  historians ;'  says  the  Reader,  ''so  a  Baker  has  arisen 
among  the  explorers:'     "  Charmingly  written;''  says  the  Spectator, 
"/////,  as  might  be  expected,  of  incident,  and  free  from  that  wearisome 
reiteration  of  useless  facts  luhich  is  the  draivback  to  almost  all  books  of 
African  travel.'" 

THE  NILE  TRIBUTARIES  OF  ABYSSINIA,  and  the  Sword 
Hunters  of  the  Hamran  Arabs.  With  Maps  and  Illustrations. 
Fourth  and  Cheaper  Edition.     Crown  8vo.    61. 

10.000.4.72. 


2      MACMILLAN'S  CATALOGUE  OF  WORKS  IN 


Sir  Samuel  Baker  here  describes  twelve  months''  exploration,  during 
zvhich  he  examined  the  rivers  that  are  tributary  to  the  Alle  from  Abyssinia, 
including  the  Atbara,  Settite,  Roy<<in,  Salaam,  Angrab,  Rahad,  Dinder, 
and  the  Blue  Nile.  The  interest  attached  to  these  portions  of  Africa  differs 
entirely  from  that  of  the  White  Nile  regions,  as  the  whole  of  Upper  Egypt 
and  Abyssinia  is  capable  of  dei'clopment,  and  is  inhabited  by  races  having 
some  degree  of  civilization;  while  Central  Africa  is  peopled  by  a  race  of 
savages,  whose  future  is  7nore  problematical.  The  Times  says :  '■'■  It  solves 
finally  a  geographical  riddle  which  hitherto  had  been  extremely  perplexing, 
and  it  adds  much  to  our  information  respecting  Egyptian  Al>yssinia  and 
the  different  races  that  spread  over  it.  It  contains,  moreoz'cr,  some  notable 
instances  of  English  daring  and  enterprising  skill :  it  abounds  in  ani- 
mated tales  of  exploits  dear  to  the  heart  of  the  British  sportsman  ;  and  it 
will  attract  even  the  least  studious  reader,  as  the  author  tells  a  story  well, 
and  can  describe  nature  with  uncommon power.^' 

Barante  (M.  De). — ^aGuizox. 

Baring-Gould  (Rev.   S.,  M.A.)— legends  OF   OLD 

TESTAMENT  CHARACTERS,  from  the  Talmud  and  other 
sources.  By  the  Rev.  S.  Baring-Gould,  M.A.  Author  of 
'•  Curious  Myths  of  the  Middle  Ages,"  "  The  Origin  and  Develop- 
ment of  Religious  Belief,"  "  In  Exitu  Israel,"  c\:c.  In  Two  Vols. 
Crown  8vo.  xds.  Vol.  T.  Adam  to  Abraham.  Vol.  II.  Mel- 
chizedek  to  Zechariah. 

Mr.  Baring- GouhPs  previous  contributions  to  the  History  of  Mythology 
and  the  formation  of  a  science  of  comparative  religion  arc  admitted  tobe 
of  high  importance;  the  present  work,  it  is  beliez'cd,  will  be  found  to 
be  of  equal  value.  He  has  collected  from  the  Talmud  and  other  sources, 
Jeivish  and  Mohammedan,  a  large  number  of  curious  and  interesting 
legends  concerning  the  principal  characters  of  the  Old  Testament,  cotn- 
paring  these  frequently  with  similar  legends  current  among  many  of  the 
peoples,  savage  and  civilized,  all  aver  the  world.  **  These  "volumes  contain 
much  that  is  vay  strange,  and,  to  the  ordinary  English  reader,  very 
noi'd.'' — Daily  News. 

Barker  (Lady). — See   also   Belles    Lettres    Catalocue. 

STATION    LIFE    IN    NEW    ZEALAND.      By   Lady   Barker 
Second  and  Cheaper  Edition.     Globe  8vo.     3^-.  6</. 


HISTORY,  BIOGRAPHY,  &-  TRAVELS. 


These  letters  are  the  exact  account  of  a  lady's  experience  of  the  brighter 
and  less  practical  side  of  colonization.  They  record  the  expeditions,  ad- 
ventures, and  emergencies  diversifying  the  daily  life  of  the  wife  of  a  New 
Zealand  sheep  farmer ;  attd,  as  each  was  written  while  the  novelty  and 
excitement  oj  the  scenes  it  describes  were  fresh  upon  her,  they  may  succeed 
in  giving  here  in  England  an  adequate  impression  of  the  delight  andjree- 
dom  of  an  existence  so  far  retnoved  from  our  own  highly -wrought  civiliza- 
tion. ' '  We  have  fiever  read  a  more  truthful  or  a  plea  sanier  little  book.  "— 
Athen.^um. 

Bernard,  St. — ä-^Morison. 

Blanford    (W.     T.)— GEOLOGY    AND     ZOOLOGY     OF 
ABYSSINIA.     By  W.  T.  Blanford.     8vo.     21s. 

This  work  contains  an  account  of  the  Geological  and  Zoological 
Observations  made  by  the  author  in  Abyssinia,  when  accompanying  the 
British  Army  on  its  march  to  Magdala  and  back  in  1868,  and  durino-  a 
short  journey  in  Northern  Abyssinia,  after  the  departure  of  the  troops. 
Parti.  Personal  Narrative;  Part  IL  Geology;  Part  III.  Zoology. 
With  Coloured  Illustrations  and  Geological  Map.  '^  The  result  of  his 
labours"  the  ACADEMY  says,  *' is  an  important  conti'ibution  to  the 
natural  history  of  the  country.''^ 

Bryce.— THE  HOLY  ROMAN  EMPIRE.  By  James  Bryce, 
D.C.L.,  Regius  Professor  of  Civil  Law,  Oxford,  "^^y^  and  Re- 
vised Edition.     Crown  8vo.     7j.  dd. 

The  object  of  this  treatise  is  not  so  much  to  give  a  narrative  history  of 
the  countries  included  hi  the  Romano-  Germanic  Etnpire — Italy  during  the 
Middle  Ages,  Germany  from  theninth  century  tothenineteenth — as  to  describe 
the  Holy  Empire  itself  as  an  iiustitutioji  or  system,  the  ivonderful  offspring 
of  a  body  of  beliefs  and  traditions  which  have  almost  wholly  passed  aivay 
from  the  world.     To  make  such  a  description  intelligible  if  has  appeared 
best  to  give  the  book  the  form  rather  of  a  narrative  than  of  a  dissertation  ; 
and  to  combine  with  an  exposition  of  what  may  be  called  the  theory  of  the 
Empire  an  outline  oJ  the  political  history  of  Germany,  as  well  as  some 
notice  of  the  affairs  of  mediceval  Italy.     Nothifig  else  so  dij'ectly  linked  the 
old xvorld to  the  neiu  as  the  Roman  Eutpire,  which  exercised  over  the  minds  of 
men  an  influence  such  as  its  material  strength  could  nez>er  have  commanded. 
It  is  of  this  influence,  and  the  causes  that  gave  it  poiver,  that  the  .present 
'work  is  designed  to  treat.      ^^  It  exactly  supplies  a  want ;  if  a  fords  a  key 

A  2 


.01 


4      MACMrLLAN\S  CATALOGUE  OF  WORKS  IN 


HISTORY,  BIOGRAPHY,  6-  TRAVELS. 


lo  much  luhtch  men  read  of  in  their  books  as  isolated  facts,  butofu^nch  they 
have  hitherto  had  no  connected  exposition  set  before  them.  IVe  knmo  of  no 
loiter  tvho  has  so  thoroughly  grasped  the  real  nature  of  the  medi.ez-al 
Kmptrc,  and  its  relations  alike  to  earlier  and  to  later  times  "—Saturday 
Review. 

Burke  (Edmund).~9.vMoRLEY(joHN).  ' 

Cameos  from  English  History._9..  Yonge  (Miss).  ; 

Chatterton.— .sv.'  Wilson  (Daniel). 

Cooper.  — ATHENE  CANTABRIGIENSES.  By  Charles 
Henry  Cooper,  F.S.A.,  and  Thompson  Cooper,  F.S.A. 
Vol.  T.  8vo.,  1500—85,  iSj.  ;    Vol.  II.,  1586-1609,  i8j. 

This  elaborate  work,  which  is  dedicated  by  permission  to  Lord  Macaulay 
contains  lives  of  the  eminent  men  sent  jorth  by   Cambridge,  after  the 
fa:hion  of  Anthony  ä  Wood,  in  his  famous  '' A  thence  Oxonietues:' 

Cox  (G.  v.,  M.A.)-— RECOLLECTIONS  OF  OXFORD. 
By  G.  V.  Cox,  M.A.,  New  College,  late  Esquire  Bedel  and 
Coroner  in  the  University  of  Oxford.  Cheaper  Edition.  Crown  8vo. 
6j. 

"  An  amusing  farrago  of  anecdote,  and  will  pleasantly  recall  in  many 
a  country  parsonage  the  me^nory  of  youthful  fl'rtjv."— Times.  *'  Those 
ivho  wish  to  make  acquaintance  with  the  Oxford  of  their  grandfathers, 
and  to  keep  up  the  intercourse  with  Alma  Mater  during  their  jathet^s  time, 
r.'en  to  the  latest  noz'clties  in  fashion  or  learning  of  the  present  day,  will  do 
well  to  procure  this  pleasant,  unpretending  little  volume.  "—Atlas. 

**  Daily  News."— THE  DAILY  NEWS  CORRESPOND- 
ENCE  of  the  War  between  Germany  and  France,  1S70— i.  Edited 
with  Notes  and  Comments.  New  Edition.  Complete  in  One 
Volume.     With  Maps  and  Plans.     Crown  8vo.    ds. 

This  Correspondence  has  been  translated  into  German.     In  a  Preface 
the  Editor  says: — 

"  Among  the  various  pictures,  recitals,  and  descriptions  which  have 
appeared,  both  of  our  gloriously  ended  national  war  as  a  whole,  and  of  Us 
several  episodes,  we  think  that  in  laying  before  the  German  public,  through 


a  translation,  thefollo7ving  IVar  Letters  which  appeared ßrst  in  the Daii^y 
News,  and  zaere  afterwards  published  collectively,  we  are  offain^  them  a 
picture  0/  the  events  of  the  zvar  of  a  quite  peculiar  character.  Their  com- 
mumcations  have  the  advantage  of  being  at  once  entertaining  and  instruc- 
tive, free  from  ez>ery  romantic  embellishment,  and  nez'ertheless  written 
in  a  vein  intelligible  and  notfatigtung  to  the  general  reader.  The  writers 
linger  over  events,  and  do  not  disdain  to  surround  the  great  and  heroic 
war.pictures  with  arabesques,  gay  and  grave,  taken  from  camp-life  and 
the  life  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  occupied  territory.  A  feature  which 
distinguishes  these  Letters  from  all  other  delineations  of  the  war  is  that  they 
do  not  proceed  from  a  single  pen,  but  were  written  from  the  camfs  of  both 
belligerents.^^  These  notes  and  comments;^  according  to  the  Saturday 
KEVIEW,      are  in  reality  a  very  well  executed  and  continuous  history.'' 

Dilke.-GREATER  BRITAIN.  A  Record  of  Travel  in  English- 
speakmg  Countries  during  1866-7.  (America,  Australia,  India  ) 
By  Sir  Charles  Wentworth  Dilke,  M.P.  Fifth  Edition. 
Crown  8vo.    öj. 

"  Mr.  Dilke;'  says  the  Saturday  Review,  "  has  written  a  book  which 
IS  probably  as  well  zvorth   reading  as  any  book  of  the  same  aims  and 
character  that  ojer  was  written.     Its  merits  are  that  it  is  written  in  a 
lively  and  agreeable  style,  that  it  implies  a  great  deal  oj  physical  pluck 
that  no  page  of  it  fails  to  show  an  acute  and  highly  intelligent  obsen^er 
that  It  stimulates  the  imagination  as  well  as  the  judgment  of  the  reader 
and  that^  it  is  on  perhaps  the  most  interesting  subject  that  can  attract  an 
Lnghshman  who  cares  about  his  country.''     '^ Many  of  the  subjects  dis- 
cussed in  these  pages,"  says  the  Daily  News,  -are  of  the  voidest  interest 
and  such  as  no  man  who  cares  for  the  future  of  his  race  and  of  the  world 
can  afford  to  treat  with  indifference. " 


Dürer  (Albrecht).— ^..  Heaton 


(Mrs.   C.) 


European  History,  Narrated  in  a  Series  of  Historical 
Selections  from  the  best  Authorities.  Edited  and  arranged  by 
E.  M.  Sewell  and  C.  M.  Yonge.  First  Series,  crown  8vo.  6s.  ; 
Second  Series,  1088-1228,  crown  8vo.  6s. 

When  young  children  have  acquired  the  outlines  of  history  from  abridg- 
ments and  catechisms,  and  it  becomes  desirable  to  give  a  more  enlar'vd 
yiroj  of  the  subject,  in  order  to  render  it  really  useful  and  interesting,  a 


6      MACMILLAN'S  CATALOGUE  OF  WORKS  IN 


dtßcuUy  often  arises  as  to  the  choice  of  books.  Two  courses  are  open,  either 
10  take  a  general  and  consequently  dry  history  of  facts,  such  as  RusseWs 
Modern  Europey  or  to  choose  some  work  treating  of  a  particular  period  or 
subject,  such  as  the  works  op  Macaulay  and  Froude.  The  former  course 
usually  renders  history  U7iinteresting ;  the  latter  is  unsatisfactory  because 
it  is  not  sufficiently  comprehensive.  To  remedy  this  difficulty,  selections ^ 
continuous  and  chronological,  have  in  the  present  volume  been  taken  from 
the  larger  works  oj  Freeman,  Milman,  Palgrave,  Lingard,  Hume,  and 
others,  which  may  serve  as  distinct  landmarks  of  historical  reading. 
"  We  know  of  scarcely  anything,''  says  the  Guardian,  of  this  volume, 
"  which  is  so  likely  to  raise  to  a  higher  level  the  average' standard  of  English 
education.^' 

Fairfax  (Lord).— a  LIFE  OF  THE  GREAT  LORD  FAIR. 
FAX,   Commander-in-Chief  of  the   Army  of  the  Tarliament   of 
England.  By  Clements  R.  Markham,  F.S.A.      AVith  Portraits, 
^raps,  Plans,  and  Illustrations.     Demy  8vo.     i6s. 
No  full  Life  of  the  great  Parliamentary  Commander  has  appeared ; 
find  it  is  here  sought  to  produce  one — based  upon  careful  research  in  con- 
temporary  records  and  upon  family   and  other  documents.     "  Highly 
useful  to  the  careful  student  of  the  History  of  the  Civil  War.   .   .   .   Pro- 
bably as  a  military  chronicle  Mr.  Markham' s  book  is  one  of  the  most  fill 
and  accurate  that  we  possess  about  the   Civil    War.'' — Fortnightly 
Rkview. 

Field    (E.  W.)— 5.^  Sadler. 

Freeman. — Works  by  Edward  A.  Freeman,  M.A,,  D.C.L. 

''^  That  special  po7ver  over  a  subject  which  conscientious  and  patient 
research  can  only  achieve,  a  strong  grasp  of  facts,  a  true  mastery  orjcr 
detail,  with  a  clear  and  tnanly  style — all  these  qualities  Join  to  make 
the  Historian  of  the  Conquest  conspicuous  in  the  intellectual  arena." — 
Academy. 

JIISTORY    of    federal    government,    from   the    Foun- 
dation of  the  Achaian  League  to  the  Disruption  of  the  United 
States.      Vol.   I.      General  Introduction,      History  of  the  Greek 
Federations.     8vo.     2is. 
Mr.  Freeman's  aim,   in  this  elaborate  and  valuable  workj   is  not  so 
much  to  discuss  the  abstract  Jiature  of  Federal  Goziernment,  as  to  exhibit 
its  actual  luorking  in  ages  and  countries  widely  removed  from  one  another. 
Four  Federal  Commonzvealths  stand  out,  in  four  differe?tt  ages  of  the  7vorld, 
as  commanding  aboz'e  all  others  the  attention  of  students  of  political  history^ 


HISTORY,  BIOGRAPHY,  &-  TRAVELS. 


Freeman  (E.  K.)— continued. 

viz.  the  Achaian  League,  the  Swiss  Cantons,  the  United  Provinces,  the 
United  States.  The  first  volume,  besides  containing  a  General  Introduc- 
twn,  treats  of  the  first  of  these.  In  writing  this  volume  the  author  has 
endeavoured  to  combine  a  text  which  may  be  instructive  and  interesting  to 
any  thoughtful  reader,  whether  specially  learned  or  not,  with  notes  lohich 
may  satisfy  the  requirements  of  the  most  exacting  scholar.  •'  The  task 
Mr.  Freeman  has  undertaken"  the  Saturday  Review  jö/j-,  '*/>  one 
of  great  magnitude  and  importance.  It  is  also  a  task  of  an  almost 
entirely  novel  character.  iVo  other  work  professing  to  give  the  history  of 
a  political  principle  occurs  to  us,  except  the  slight  contributions  to  the 
history  of  representative  government  that  is  contained  in  a  course  oJ 
M.  Guizot's  lectures  .  .  .  .  The  history  of  the  development  of  a  principle 
is  at  least  as  important  as  the  history  of  a  dynasty,  or  of  a  race.' 

OLD  ENGLISH  HISTORY.     With  Five  Coloured  Maps.    Second 
Edition.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.,  half-bound,     ds. 

''Its  object,"  the  Preface  says,  "is  to  shcnu  that  clear,  accurate,  and 
scientific  views  of  history,  or  indeed  of  any  subject,  may  be  easily  given  to 
children  from  the  very  first.  .  .  .  I  have  throughout  striven  to  connect  the 
history  of  England  with  the  general  history  of  civilized  Europe,  and  I  have 
especially  tried  to  make  the  book  serve  as  an  incentive  to  a  more  accurate 
study  of  historic  geography. "  The  rapid  sale  of  the  first  edition  and  tlie 
universal  approval  ruith  which  the  work  has  been  received  prove  the  correct- 
ness of  the  author's  notions,  and  shoiu  that  for  such  a  book  there  was  ample 
room.  The  7uork  is  suited  not  only  for  children,  but  will  serve  as  an  ex- 
cellent text-book  for  older  students,  a  clear  and  faithjid  summary  of  the 
history  of  the  period  for  those  who  wish  to  revive  their  historical  know- 
ledge, and  a  book  full  of  charms  for  the  general  reader.  The  work  is 
preceded  by  a  complete  chronological  Table,  and  appended  is  an  exhaustive 
and  useful  Index.  In  the  present  edition  the  whole  has  been  carefully  revised, 
and  such  improvements  as  suggested  themselves  have  been  introduced. 
"  The  book  indeed  is  full  of  instruction  and  inteirst  to  students  of  all 
ages,  and  he  must  be  a  well-informed  man  indeed  who  will  not  rise  from 
üs  perusal  with  clearer  and  more  accurate  ideas  of  a  too  much  neglected 
portion  of  English  history." — Spectator. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  CHURCH  OF  WELLS, 
as  illustrating  the  History  of  the  Cathedral  Churches  of  the  Old 
Foundation.     Crown  8vo.     t^s.  6d. 


8      MACMILLAN'S  CATALOGUE  OF  WORKS  IN 


Freeman  (E.  A.) — continued. 

*  I  have  here^^'  the  author  says,  ^^  tried  to  treat  the  history  of  the 
Church  of  Wells  as  a  contrilnition  to  the  general  history  of  the  Church 
and  Kingdom  of  England^   and  specially  to  the  history  of  Cathedral 
Churches  of  the  Old  Foundation.    .   .    .   I  wish  to  point  out  the  general 
principles  of  the  original  founders  as  the  model  to  7uhich  the  Old  Foun- 
dations should  be  brought  back,  and  the  New  Foimdations  reformed  after 
their  pattern.''^     "  The  hisiojy  assumes  in  Mr.  Freeman's  hands  a  signi- 
ficance,  and,  we  may  add,  a  practical  ralue  as  suggestive  of  7uhat  a  cathe- 
dral ought  to  be,  which  rnakc  it  well  worthy  of  mention.^'' — Spectator. 

HISTORICAL  ESSAYS.     Second  Edition.    8vo.     los.  6d 

The  principle  on  which  these  Essays  have  been  chosen  is  that 
of  selecting  papers  which  refer  to  comparatively  modern  times,  or,  at 
least,  to  the  existing  states  and  nations  of  Europe.  By  a  sort  of  accident 
a  number  of  the  pieces  chosen  have  thrcnv?i  themselves  into  something  like 
a  continuous  series  bearing  on  the  historical  causes  of  the  great  events  oj 
1870 — 71.  Notes  have  been  added  whenr^'cr  they  seemed  to  be  called  for  ; 
and  whc)iez'ei'  he  could  gain  in  accuracy  of  statement  or  in  force  or  clear- 
ness of  expression,  the  author  has  fi'eely  changed,  added  to,  or  left  out, 
what  he  originally  wrote.  To  many  of  the  Essays  has  been  added  a  short 
note  of  the  circumstances  under  which  they  7vere  W7'itten.  It  is  needless  to 
say  that  any  product  of  Mr.  Freeman's  pen  is  worthy  of  attentive  perusal ; 
and  it  is  believed  that  the  contents  of  this  volume  will  throw  light  on 
se7'eral  subjects  0/  great  historical  importance  and  the  widest  interest. 
The  follo'iving  is  a  list  of  the  subjects: — i.  The  Mythical  and  Romantic 
Elements  in  Early  English  History;  2.  The  Continuity  of  English 
Hi<!tory  ;  3.  TJie  Relations  between  the  Crowns  of  England  and  Scotland  ; 
4.  Saint  Thomas  of  Canterbury  and  his  Biographers  ;  5.  The  Reign  oJ 
Edward  the  Third;  6.  The  Holy  Romati  Empire ;  7.  77ie  Fraiiks  and 
the  Gattls  ;  8.  The  Early  Sieges  of  Parts  ;  9.  Frederick  the  First,  King 
of  Italy  ;  i  o.  The  Emperor  Frederick  the  Second  ;  11.  Charles  the  Bold ; 
12.  Presidential  Government.  ^^  He  ntfer  touches  a  question  without 
adding  to  our  comprehension  of  it,  without  leaving  the  impression  of  an 
ample  knowledge,  a  Hghteous  purpose,  a  clear  and  paivoful  7inder- 
standing. " — SATURDAY  Review. 


THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  ENGLISH  CONSTITUTION  FROM 
THE  EARLIEST  TIMES.     In  the  press. 


HISTORY,  BIOGRAPHY,  &^  TRAVELS. 


Galileo.— THE  private  life  of  GALILEO.  Compiled 
principally  from  his  Correspondence  and  that  of  his  eldest 
daughter,  Sister  Maria  Celeste,  Nun  in  the  Franciscan  Convent  of 
S.  Matthew  in  Arcetri.     With  Portrait.     Crown  8vo.     7^.  6d. 

It  has  been  the  endeavour  0/  the  compiler  to  place  before  the  reader  a 
plain,  ungarbled  statement  of  facts  ;  and,  as  a  means  to  this  end,  to  allow 
Galileo,  his  friends,  and  his  judges  to  speak  for  themselves  as  far  as  possible. 
All  the  best  authorities  have  been  made  use  of,  arid  all  the  mata-ials  which 
exist  for  a  Inography  have  been  in  this  volutne  put  into  a  symmetrical  form. 
The  result  is  a  most  touching  picture  skilfully  arranged  of  the  great  heroic 
man  of  science  and  his  dn>oted  daughter,  whose  letters  air  full  of  the  deepest 
reverential  love  and  trust,  amply  repaid  by  the  noble  soul.      The  Satur- 
DAY  Review  says  of  the  book,  ''It  is  not  so  much  the philosopha-  as  the 
man  who  is  seen  in  this  simple  and  life-like  sketch,  and  the  hand  which 
portrays  the  features  and  actions  is  mainly  that  of  one  who  had  studied  the 
subject  the  closest  and  the  most  intimately.      This  little  volume  has  done 
much  within  its  slender  compass  to  prove  the  depth  and  tenderness  of 
Galileo's  heart.'' 


Gladstone  (Right   Hon.  W.  E.,  M.P.)— juVENTUS 

MUNDI.     The  Gods  and  Men  of  the  Heroic  Age.     Crown  8vo. 
cloth.     With  Map.     io.r.  6d.     Second  Edition, 

This  work  of  Mr.  Gladstone  deals  especially  with  the  historic  element 
in  Homer,  expounding  that  element  and  furnishing  by  its  aid  a  full 
accoufit  of  the  Homei'ic  men  and  the  Homeric  religion.    It  starts,  after 
the  introducto7y  chapter,  with  a  discussion  of  the  sevei'al  races  then  existing 
in  Hellas,  including  the  influence  of  the  Phoinicians  and  Egyptians.     It 
contains  chapters  on  the  Olympian  system,  with  its  several  deities ;  on  the 
Ethics  and  the  Polity  of  the  Heroic  age;  on  the  Geography  of  Homer ;  on 
the  characters  of  the  Poems  ;  presenting,  in  fine,  a  view  of  primitive  life 
and  primitive  society  as  found  in  the  poems  of  Homer.      To  this  New 
Edition  various  additions  have  been  made.      ^'  Seldofu,"  says  the  Atwe.- 
N^UM,  ''out  of  the  great  poems  themselves,  have  these  Divijiities  looked 
so  majestic  and  respectable.      To  read  these  brilliattt  details  is  like  standing 
on  the  Olympian  threshold  and  gazing  at  the  ineffable  brightness  within." 
*'  There  is,"  according  to  //^^Westminster  Review,  "'probably  no  other 
writer  no^a  living  7uho  could  have  done  the  work  of  this  book.  .  .  It  would 
be  dißcult  to  point  out  a  book  that  contains  so  much  fulness  of  knowledge 
along  with  so  much  freshness  of  perception  and  clearness  of  pi-esentation." 


lo    MACMILLAN'S  CATALOGUE  OF  WORKS  IN 

GuizOt. — M.  DE  BARANTE,  a  Memoir,  Biographical  and  Auto- 
biographical. By  M.  GUIZOT.  Translated  by  the  Author  of 
"John  Halifax,  Gentleman."    Crown  8vo.     ()s,  dd. 

"  //  is  scarcely  necessa}y  to  write  a  preface  to  this  book.  Its  lifelike^ 
/portrait  of  a  true  and  great  matiy  fainted  unconsciously  by  himself  in  his 
letters  and  autobiography^  and  retouched  and  completed  by  the  tender  hand 
of  his  surviving  friend— the  friend  of  a  lifetime— is  sure,  I  think,  to  be 
appreciated  in  Kngland  as  it  ivas  in  France,  where  it  appeared  in  the 
Revue  de  Deux  Mondes.  Also,\  I  beliez'e  every  thoughtful  mind  will 
enjoy  its  clear  reflections  of  French  and  European  politics  and  history  for 
the  last  seventy  years,  and  the  curious  light  thus  throw)i  upon  many  present 
events  and  combinations  of  circumstances." — Preface.  "  The  highest 
purposes  of  both  history  and  biography  are  answered  by  a  memoir  so  life- 
like, so  faithful,  and  so  philosophical.'' — British  Quarterly  Review. 
"  This  eloquent  memoir,  which  for  tenderness,  gracefulness,  and  vigour, 
might  be  placed  on  the  same  shelf  with  Tacitus'  Life  of  A gricola.  .  .  .  Mrs. 
Craik  has  rendered  the  language  of  Guizot  in  her  07vn  yiveet  translucent 
English."— Daily  News. 

Heaton  (Mrs.  C.)— HISTORY  OF  THE  life  OF  AL- 
BRECHT  DÜRER,  of  Nürnberg.  With  a  Translation  of  his 
Letters  and  Journal,  and  some  account  of  his  Works.  By  Mrs. 
Charles  Heaton.   Royal  8vo.  bevelled  boards,  extra  gilt.  31^.  6d. 

This  zvork  contains  about  Thirty  Illustrations,  ten  of  which  arc  produc- 
tions by  the  Autotype  {carbon)  process,  and  are  printed  in  permanent  tints 
by  Messrs.  Cundall  and  Fleming,  tinder  licence  from  the  Autotype  Com- 
pany, Limited ;  the  rest  are  Photographs  and  Woodcuts. 

Hole. — A  GENEALOGICAL  STEMMA  OF  THE  KINGS 
OF  ENGLAND  AND  FRANCE.  By  the  Rev.  C.  Hole, 
M.A.,  Trinity  College,  Cambridge.     On  Sheet,  is. 

The  different  families  are  printed  in  distinguishing  colours,  thus  facili- 
tating reference. 

Hozier  (H.  M.)— Works  by  Captain  Henry  M.  Hozier, 
late   Assistant   Military  Secretary    to   Lord  Napier   of  Magdala. 

THE  SEVEN  WEEKS'  WAR;  Its  Antecedents  and  Incidents. 
Nrcv  and  Cheaper  Edition.  With  New  Preface,  Maps,  and  Plans. 
Crown  8vo.     ds. 


HISTORY,  BIOGRAPHY,  ^  TRAVELS. 


II 


Hosier  (H.     yi,)— continued. 

This  account  of  the  brief  but  momentous  Austro- Prussian  War  of  1866 
claims  consideration  as  being  the  product  of  an  eye-witness  of  some  of  its 
7nost  interesting  incidents.      The  author  has  attempted  to  ascertain  and 
to  advance  facts.       Two   maps  are  given,   one    illustrating  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Army  of  the  Maine,    and  the  other  the  operations  from 
Koniggrdtz.     In  the  Prefatory  Chapter  to  this  edition,  events  resulting 
from  the  war  of  1866  are  set  forth,  a  fid  the  current  of  European  history 
traced  dow7i  to  the  recent  Franco- Prussian  war,  a  natural  consequence 
of  the  war  whose  history  is  narrated  in  this  volume.      ''Mr.   Hozier 
■added  to  the  knozvledge  of  military  operations  and  of  languages,  which 
he  had  proved  himself  to  possess,   a  ready  and  skilful  pen,    and  ex- 
cellent faculties   of  observation   and  description.  .   .    .      All   that  Mr. 
Hozier  saw  of  the  great  events  of  the  war— and  he  saiu  a  large  share 
of  them— he   describes   in    clear    and   vivid  language."— Saturday 
Review.      "  Mr.    Hozier' s  volumes  deserve  to  take  a  permanent  place 
in  the  literature  of  the  Seven  Weeks'  ^«r."— Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

THE  BRITISH  EXPEDITION  TO  ABYSSINIA.     Compiled  from 
Authentic  Documents.     8vo.     qj. 

Several  accounts  of  the  British  Expedition  have  been  published. 
They  have,  however,  been  written  by  those  who  have  not  had  access  to  those 
authentic  documents,  which  cannot  be  collected  directly  after  the  termiiiation 
of  a  campaign.  The  endeavour  of  the  author  of  this  sketch  has  been  ty 
present  to  readers  a  succinct  and  impartial  account  of  an  enterprise  wJiich 
has  rarely  been  equalled  in  the  annals  of  war.  "  This^'  says  the 
Spectator,  "  ivill  be  the  account  of  the  Abyssinian  Expedition  for 
professional  reference,  if  not  for  professional  reading.  Its  literary 
merits  are  really  very  great.'' 

THE  INVASIONS  OF  ENGLAND.     A  History  of  the  Past,  with 
Lessons  for  the  Future.     In  the  press. 

Huyshe  (Captain  G.  L.)--the  red  RIVER  EXPE- 
DITION. By  Captain  G.  L.'  Huyshe,  Rifle  Brigade,  late  on 
the  Staff  of  Colonel  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley.  With  Maps.  8vo. 
IOJ-.  6d. 

This  account  has  been  written  in  the  hope  of  directing  attention 
to  the  successful  accomplishment  of  an  expedition  which  was  attended  witk 
more  than  ordinary  dißculties.      The  author  has  had  access  to  the  official 


12     MACMILLAX\S  CATALOGUE  OF  WORKS  IiX 


documents  of  tlie  Expedition^  and  has  also  availed  himself  of  the  reports  07i 
the  line  of  route  published  by  Mr.  Dawson,  C.E.y  and  by  the  Typogra- 
phical Department  of  the  War  Office.  The  statements  made  may  therefore 
be  relied  on  as  accurate  and  impartial.  The  endeavour  has  been  made  to 
avoid  tiring  the  general  reader  with  dry  details  of  military  movements^  and 
yet  not  to  sacrifice  the  character  of  the  work  as  an  account  of  a  militaiy 
expedition.  The  volume  contains  a  portrait  of  President  Louis  Riel,  and 
Maps  of  the  route.  77/*?  Athen.^=:um  calls  it  ^^  an  enduring  authentic 
record  of  one  of  the  most  creditable  achirc'ements  rver  accomplished  by  the 
British  Army." 


Irving.~THE  ANNALS  OF  OUR  TIME.  A  Diurnal  of  Events, 
Social  and  Political,  Home  and  Foreign,  from  the  Accession  of 
Queen  Victoria  to  the  Peace  of  Versailles.  By  Joseph  Irving. 
Second  Edition.     8vo.  half-bound.      i6j-. 

Every  occurrence,  metropolitan  or  provincial,  home  or  foreign,  which 
gave  rise  to  public  excitement  or  discussion,  or  became  the  starting  point  for 
iieiv  trains  of  thought  affecting  our  social  life,  has  been  judged  proper  matter 
for  this  volume.  In  the  proceedings  of  Parliament,  an  endeavour  has 
been  made  to  notice  all  those  Debates  luhich  7vere  either  remarkable  as 
affecting  the  fate  of  parties^  or  led  to  important  changes  in  our  relations 
with  Foreign  Powers.  Brief  notices  have  been  given  of  the  death  of  all 
noteiuorthy  persons.  Though  the  events  are  set  do7vn  day  by  day  in  their 
order  of  occurrence,  the  book  is,  in  its  way,  the  history  of  an  important 
and  well-defined  historic  cycle.  In  these  ''Annals,^  the  ordinary  reader 
may  make  himself  acquainted  'with  the  history  of  his  oxvn  time  in  a  way 
that  has  at  least  the  merit  of  simplicity  and  readiness  ;  the  more  cultivated 
student  will  doubtless  be  thankful  for  the  opportunity  given  him  of  passing 
doivn  the  historic  stream  undisturbed  by  any  other  theoretical  or  party 
feeling  than  what  he  himself  has  at  hand  to  explain  the  philosophy  of  our 
national  story.  A  complete  and  useful  Index  is  appended.  The  Table 
of  Administrations  is  designed  to  assist  the  reader  in  folhnving  the  various 
political  changes  noticed  in  their  chronological  order  in  the  ^Annals.'' — 
In  the  new  edition  all  errors  and  omissions  have  been  rectified,  300  pages 
been  added,  and  as  many  as  46  occupied  by  an  impartial  exhibition  of  the 
7Vonderful  scries  of  n'ents  marking  the  latter  half  of  1870.  **  We 
have  before  us  a  trusty  and  ready  guide  to  the  events  of  the  past  thirty 
years,  available  equally  for  the  statesman,  the  politician,  the  public 
writer,  and  the  general  reader.  If  Mr.  Irving' s  object  has  been  to  bring 
before  the  reader  all  the  most  notavorthy  occun-ences  which  have  happened 


HISTORY,  BIOGRAPHY,  ^  TRAVELS. 


since  the  beginning  of  her  Majesty's  reign,  he  may  justly  claim  the  credit 
of  having  done  so  most  briefly,  succinctly,  and  simply,  and  in  such  a 
manner,  too,  as  to  furnish  him  with  the  details  necessary  in  each  case  to 
comprehend  the  event  of  which  he  is  in  search  in  an  intelligent  manner. " 
—Times. 


Kingsiey  (Canon).— Works  by  the  Rev.  Charles  Kingsley, 
M.A.,  Rector  of  Eversley  and  Canon  of  Chester.  (For  other 
Works  by  the  same  Author,  see  Theological  and  Belles 
Lettres   Catalogues.) 

ON  THE  ANCIEN  REGIME  as  it  existed  on  the  Continent  before 
the  French  Revolution.  Three  Lectures  delivered  at  the 
Royal  Institution,      Crown  8vo.     ds. 

These  three  lectures  discuss  severally  (i)  Caste,  {2)  Centralization,  (3) 
The  Explosive  Forces  by  which  the  Revolution  was  superinduced.  The 
Preface  deals  at  some  length  with  certain  political  questions  of  the  present 
day. 

AT  LAST  :  A  CHRISTMAS  in  the  WEST  INDIES.  With  nearly 
Fifty    Illustrations.      New  and   Cheaper    Edition.      Crown   Svo. 

lOJ.  dd. 

Mr.  Kingsley' s  dream  of  forty  years  zaas  at  last  fulfilled,  when  he 
started  on  a  Christmas  expedition  to  the  West  Indies,  for  the  purpose  of 
becoming  personally  acquainted  7uith  the  scenes  ivhich  he  has  so  vividly 
described  in  "  JVest7uard  Ho  !"  These  two  volumes  are  the  journal  of  his 
voyage.  Records  of  natural  history,  sketches  of  tropical  landscape,  chapte?-s 
on  education,  7'ie7vs  of  society,  all  find  their  place  in  a  7uork  written,  so  to 
say,  under  the  inspiration  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  and  the  other  adventurous 
men  who  three  hundred  years  ago  disputed  against  Philip  IL  the  possession 
of  the  Spanish  Main.  '*  We  can  only  say  that  Mr.  Kingsley' s  account  of 
a  *  Christmas  in  the  West  Indies  '  is  in  every  7C>ay  ivorthy  to  be  classed 
among  his  happiest  productions'' — STANDARD. 


of   Lectures 
\2s. 


THE   ROMAN    AND   THE    TEUTON.      A    Series 
delivered  before  the  University  of  Cambridge.     8vo. 

Co^T^^TS -.—Inaugural  Lecture ;  The  Forest  Children;  The  Dying 
Empire;  The  Human  Deluge ;  The  Gothic  Civilizer;  Dietrich's  End;  The 
Nemesis  of  the  Goths;  Paulus  Diaconus  ;  The  Clergy  and  the  Heathen  ; 
The  Monk  a  Civilizer  ;  The  Lombard  Laws  ;  The  Popes  and  the  Lombards  ; 


14    MACMILLAN'S  CATALOGUE  OF  WORKS  IN 


HISTORY,  BIOGRAPHY,  &^  TRAVELS. 


15 


TAe  Strategy  of  Providence.  "//^  luis  rnufci'ed^''  says  the  Noncon- 
formist, ^'' good  senice  and  shed  a  nr<;>  lustre  on  the  chair  of  Modern 
History  at  Candrndge  ....  He  has  thrmvn  a  charm  around  the  ivork 
by  the  may'zicUous  fascinations  of  his  o7on  genius,  hrcmght  out  in  strong 
relief  those  great  pnnciples  of  ivhich  all  history  is  a  rrjelation,  lighted 
up  many  dark  and  almost  unknorMn  spots,  and  stimulated  the  desire  to 
understand  more  thoroughly  one  of  the  greatest  via-jements  in  the  story  of 
humanity.'''' 


Kingsley    (Henry,     F.R.G.S.)— For  other  Works  by  5 
Author,  see  Belles  Lettres  Catalogue. 


same 


TALES  OF  OLD  TRAVEL.  Rc-narratcd  by  Henry  Kingsley, 
F.R.G.S.  With  Eight  Illustrations  by  HuARD.  Third  Edition. 
CrovvTi  8vo.     ds. 

In  this  volume  Mr.  Henry  Kingsley  re-narrates,  at  the  same  time 
preserving  much  of  the  quaintness  of  the  original,  some  of  the  most  fasci- 
nating tales  of  travel  contained  in  the  collections  of  Hakluyt  and  others.  The 
Contents  are— Marco  Polo;  The  Shi/nvrech  of  Pelsart ;  The  Wonderful 
Adventures  of  Andreiu  Battel;  The  lVande}-ings  of  a  Capuchin;  Peter 
Carder;  The  Preservation  of  the '' Terra  Ahn'a ;''  Spitzbergen;  D'Ermc- 
nonvilles  Acclimatization  Adventure;  The  Old  Slave  Trade;  Miles  Philips  ; 
The  Sufferings  of  Robert  Everard ;  John  Fox;  Alvaro  Nunez;  The  Foun- 
dation of  an  Empire.  **  We  know  no  better  Imk  for  those  7uho  want 
knowledge  or  seek  to  refresh  it.  As  for  the  ^sensational,'  most  n<K'els  arc 
tame  compared  ivith  these  narratives.^' — Athenäum.  '■^Exactly  the 
hook  to  interest  and  to  do  good  to  intelligent  and  Jrigh -spirited  boys."' — 
Literary  Churchman. 

Macmillan  (Rev.  Hugh).— For  other  Works  by  same  Author, 
see  Theological  and  Scientific:  Catalogues. 


m 


HOLIDAYS  ON  IHGH  LANDS  ;    or,   Rambles   and  Incidents 
search  of  Alpine  Plants.     Crown  8vo.  cloth.     6j. 

Tfie  aim  of  this  book  is  to  iinpart  a  general  idea  of  the  origin,  character, 
and  distribution  of  those  rare  and  beaut  if  id  Alpine  plants  which  occur  on 
the  British  hills,  and  which  are  found  almost  n^cryivherc  on  the  lofty 
mountain  chains  of  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  and  America.  The  informa- 
tion the  author  has  to  give  is  con7>eyed  in  untechnical  language,  in  a 
setting  oj  personal  adventure,    and  associated  with   descriptions  of  the 


natural  scenery  and  the  peculiarities  of  the  hujiian  life  in  the  midst  of  which 
the  plants  were  found.  By  this  method  the  subject  is  made  interesting  t» 
a  very  large  class  of  reada-s.  ''Botanical  kncnvledge  is  blended  with  a 
lave  of  nature,  a  pious  enthusiasm,  and  a  rich  felicity  of  diction  not  to  be 
met  with  in  any  works  of  kindred  character,  if  we  except  those  of  Hu(^h 
Miller. "— TELEGRAni.  * '  Mr.  M.  's  gl(nving  pictures  of  Scandinavian 
scenery.'''' — Saturday  Review. 

Martin  (Frederick)._THE  STATESMAN'S  YEAR-BOOK  : 
See  p.  36  of  this  Catalogue. 

Martineau.— BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES,  1852-1868. 
By  Harriet  Martineau.  Third  and  Cheaper  Edition,  with 
New  Preface.     Crown  8vo.     ds. 

A  Collection  of  Memoirs  under  these  sroeral  sections  :—{i)  Royal,  {2) 
Politicians,  (3)  Professional,  (4)  Scientific,  (5)  Social,  (6)  Litei-ary.  These 
Memoirs  appeared  originally  in  the  columns  of  the  Daily  News.  "  Miss 
Martineau' s  large  literary  po^vers  and  her  fine  intellectual  training  make 
these  little  sketches  more  instructive,  and  cojistitiite  them  more  genuinely 

works  of  art,  than   many  more  ambitious   and  diffuse  biographies. " 

Fortnightly  Review.  ''Each  memoir  is  a  complete  digest  of  a 
celebrated  life,  illuminated  by  the  flood  of  searching  light  which  streams 
from  the  gaze  oJ  an  acute  but  liberal  mind ." — Morning  Star. 

Masson  (David) — For  other  Works  by  same  Author,  see  Philo- 
sophical and  Belles  Lettres  Catalogues. 

LIFE  OF  JOHN  ÄIILTON.  Narrated  in  connection  with  the 
Political,  Ecclesiastical,  and  Literary  History  of  his  Time.  By 
David  Masson,  M.  A.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  English 
Literature  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  Vol.  I.  with  Portraits. 
8vo.  iSj-.  Vol.  IL,  1638— 1643.  8vo.  Yds.  Vol.  HI.  in  the 
press. 

This  work  is  not  only  a  Biography,  but  also  a  continuous  Political, 
Ecclesiastical,  and  Literary  History  of  England  through  Milton's  whole 
time.  In  order  to  understand  Milton,  his  position,  his  tnotives,  his 
thoughts  by  himselj,  his  public  words  to  his  C9untiymen,  arid  the  probable 
effect  of  those  words,  it  was  necessary  to  refer  largely  to  the  History  of  his 
Time,  not  only  as  it  is  presented  in  well-known  books,  but  as  it  had  to  be 
rediscovered  by  express  and  laborious  investigation  in  original  and Jorgotten 


fcij 


i6    MACMILLAN'S  CATALOGUE  OF  WORKS  IN 


HISTORY,  BIOGRAPHY,  &-  TRAVELS. 


17 


records :  tJms  of  the  Biography,  a  History  grrui :  not  a  mere  popular 
campllation,  but  a  work  of  independent  search  atui  ?nethod  from  first  to 
last,  which  has  cost  more  labour  by  far  than  the  Biography,  The  second 
volume  is  so  arranged  that  the  reader  may  select  or  omit  either  the  History 
or  Biography.  The  NoRTii  British  Review,  speaking  0/  the  first 
volume  of  this  work  said,  '  *  The  Life  of  Milton  is  here  written  once  for 
all.^'  The  Nonconformist,  in  noticing  the  second  volume,  says,  ^'^  Its 
literary  excellence  entitles  it  to  take  its  place  in  the  first  ranks  of  our 
titei'ature,  while  the  7vhole  style  of  its  execution  marks  it  as  the  only  book 
that  has  done  anything  like  adequate  justice  to  one  of  the  great  masters  of  our 
language,  and  one  of  our  truest  patriots,  as  well  as  our  greatest  epic  poet.'' 

Mayor  (J.  E.  B.)_\VORKS  Edited  By  John  E.   B.   Mayor, 
M.A.,  Fellow  of  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge. 

CAMBRIDGE  IN  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY.    Part  II. 
Autobiography  of  Matthew  Robinson.      Fcap.  8vo.     ^s.  6d. 

This  is  tJie  second  of  the  Memoirs  illustrative  of  ^'■Cambridge  in  the 
Seventeenth  Century,''  that  of  Nicholas  Farrar  having  preceded  if.  It  gives 
a  lively  picture  of  England  during  the  Civil  Wars,  the  most  impoi'tant 
crisis  of  our  national  life ;  it  supplies  materials  for  the  history  of  the 
[university  and  our  Endo7i.>ed  Schools,  and  gives  its  a  vieiv  of  country 
clergy  at  a  time  when  they  are  supposed  to  have  been,  with  scarce  an  ex- 
ception, scurrilous  sots.  Mr.  Mayor  has  added  a  collection  of  extracts  and 
documents  relating  to  the  history  of  srjcral  other  Cambridge  men  of  note 
belonging  to  the  same  period,  all,  like  Robinson,  of  Nonconformist  leanings. 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP   BEDELL.     By  his  Son.     Fcap.  8vo. 


(>d. 


This  is  the  third  of  the  Memoirs  illustrative  of"  Cambridge  in  the  \*]th 
Century.'"'  The  life  of  the  Bishop  of  Kilmore  here  printed  for  the  first  time 
is  preserved  in  the  Tanner  MSS.,  and  is pi'eliminary  to  a  larger  one  to  be 
issued  shortly. 

Mitford  (A.  B.)— TALES  OF  OLD  JAPAN.  By  A.  B. 
MiTFORD,  Second  Secretary  to  the  British  Legation  in  Japan. 
With  upwards  of  30  Illustrations,  drawn  and  cut  on  Wood  by 
Japanese  Artists.     Two  Vols,  crown  8vo.  2ls. 

Under  the  influence  of  more  enligh  tested  ideas  and  of  a  liberal  sy stein  of 
policy,  the  old  Japanese  civilization  is  fast  disappearing,  and  will,  in  'a 


few  years,  be  completely  extinct.  It  was  important,  therefore,  to  presene 
as  far  as  possible  trustworthy  records  of  a  state  of  society  -which,  although 
venerable  from  its  antiquity,  has  for  Europeans  the  dawn  op  novelty  ; 
hence  the  series  oj  narratives  and  legends  translated  by  Mr.  Mitford, 
and  in  which  the  Japanese  are  very  judiciously  left  to  tell  their  oivn  tale. 
The  two  volumes  comprise  not  only  stories  and  episodes  illustrative  of 
Asiatic  superstitions,  but  also  three  sermons.  The  preface,  appetuiices, 
and  notes  explain  a  number  of  local  peculiarities  ;  the  thirty-one  woodcuts 
arc  the  genuine  work  of  a  native  aiiist,  who,  unconsciously  of  course,  has 
adopted  the  process  first  introduced  by  the  early  German  masters.  "  These 
very  original  volumes  will  always  be  inte^-esting  as  memorials  of  a  most 
exceptional  society,  while  regarded  simply  as  tales,  they  are  sparkling,  sensa- 
tional, and  dramatic,  and  the  originality  of  their  ideas  and  the  quaintness 
of  their  language  give  them  a  most  captivating  piquancy.  The  illustra- 
tions are  extremely  interesting,  and  for  the  curious  in  such  matters  have 
a  special  and  particular  value." — Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

Morley  (John).— EDMUND  burke,  a  Historical  Study.     By 
John  Morley,  B.A.  Oxon.     Crown  8vo.     7^.  6d. 

"  The  style  is  terse  and  incisive,  and  brilliant  with  epigj-am  and  point. 
It  contains  pithy  aphoristic  sentences  which  Burke  himself  would  not  have 
disowned.  Its  sustained  poiuer  of  reasoning,  its  wide  sweep  of  observation 
and  reflection,  its  ele7>ated  dhical  and  social  tone,  stamp  it  as  a  work  oj 
high  excellence."— ^KTiJ'R.TiiCi  Review.  "^  model  of  compact  conden- 
sation. We  have  seldom  met  with  a  book  in  which  so  much  matter  was 
compressed  into  so  limited  a  space.  "—Pall  Mall  Gazette.  ''An  essay 
of  unustial effort." — Westminster  Review. 

Morison.— THE  LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  SAINT  BERNARD, 
Abbot  of  Clair vaux.  ByjAMES  Cotter  Morison,  M.A.  Cheaper 
Edition.     Crown  8vo.     4^.  (>d. 

The  Pall  Mall  Gazette  calls  this  "  one  of  the  best  contributions  in 
our  literature  toivards  a  vivid,  intelligent,  and  worthy  knowledge  of 
European  interests  and  thoughts  and  feelings  during  the  tii^elßh  century. 
A  delightful  and  instructive  volume,  and  one  0/  the  best  products  of  the 
modern  historic  spirit."  ^' A  work,"  says  the  Nonconformist,  *'«-/ 
great  merit  and  value,  dealing  most  thoroughly  with  one  of  the  wnst  in- 
teresting characters,  and  one  of  the  most  interesting  periods,  in  the  Churcl 
history  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Mr.  Monson  is.thoroughly  master  of  his  subject, 

B 


1 8    MACMILLAN'S  CATALOGUE  OF  WORKS  IN 


HISTOR I ;  BIOGRAPHY,  &-  TRA  VELS. 


19 


am/  7untes  xvitk  great  disoimination  and  fairness,  and  in  a  chaste  and 
elegant  styled  The  Sfeci'ATOR  says  it  is  **not  only  distinguished  by 
research  and  candour,  it  has  also  the  great  merit  of  never  being  duliy 

Palgrave  (Sir  F-.)— HISTORY  OF  NORMANDY  AND 
OF  ENGLAND.  By  Sir  Francis  Palgrave,  Deputy  Keeper 
of  Her  Majesty's  Public  Records.  Completing  the  History  to  the 
Death  of  William  Rufus.     Four  Vols.  8vo.    £^  4$-. 

Volume  I.  General  Relations  of  Mediarual  Europe —  The  Carhrvingian 
Empire — The  Danish  Expeditions  in  the  Gauls — And  the  Establishment 
of  Rollo.  Volume  II.  The  Three  First  Dukes  oj  Normandy ;  Rollo^ 
Guillaume  Longue-Epee,  and  Richard  Sans-Pmr — The  Carlovingian 
line  supplanted  by  the  Capets,  Volume  III.  Richard  Sans- Feu r — 
Richard  Le-Bon — Richard  III. — Robert  Le  Diable — William  the  Con- 
queror. Volume  IV.  William  Rufus — Accession  of  Henry  Beauclerc. 
If  is  needless  to  say  anything  to  recommend  this  7vorh  of  a  lifetime  to  all 
students  of  history ;  it  is,  as  the  Spectator  says,  *^ perhaps  the  greatest 
single  contribution  yet  made  to  the  authentic  annals  of  this  country,""  and 
"  musf,^'  says  the  NONCONFORMIST,  ^*  always  rank  among  our  standard 
authorities.^^ 

Palgrave  (W.  G.)  — A  NARRATIVE  OF  A  YEAR'S 
JOURNEY  THROUGH  CENTRAL  AND  EASTERN 
ARABIA,   1S62-3.     By  liam  Gifford  Palgrave,  late  of 

the  Eightli  Regiment  Bombay  N.  I.  Sixth  Edition.  With  Maps, 
Plans,  and  Portrait  of  Author,  engiaved  on  steel  by  Jeens.  Crown 
8vo.     6s. 

"  jyie  work  is  a  model  of  what  its  class  should  be ;  the  style  restrained, 
the  narrative  clear,  telling  us  all  we  imsh  to  kno7J  of  the  country  and 
people  visited,  a)id  enough  of  the  author  and  his  feelings  to  enable  us  to 
trust  ourselves  to  his  guidance  in  a  tract  hitherto  untrodden,  and  dangerous 
in  more  senses  than  one.  .  .  He  has  not  only  written  one  of  the  best  books 
on  the  Arabs  and  one  of  the  best  books  on  Arabia,  but  he  has  done  so  in  a 
wanner  that  must  command  the  respect  no  less  than  the  admiration  of  his 
fe/lo7v-countrymen.''—y ORTfiiGHTLY  Review.  "  Considering  the  extent 
of  our  previous  ignorance,  the  amount  of  his  achievements,  and  the  im- 
portance of  his  contributions  to  our  knowledge,  we  cannot  say  less  of  him 
th^n  was  once  said  of  a  far  greater  discoverer — Mr.  Palgrave  has  indeed 
i^iven  a  new  world  to  Europe.'" — Pall  Mall  Gazette. 


Paris.— INSIDE    PARIS    DURING    THE    SIEGE. 
Oxford  Graduate.     Crown  8vo.     7^.  6d. 


By 


an 


This  volume  consists  of  the  diary  kept  by  a  gentleman  who  lived  in  Paris 
during  the  whole  of  its  siege  by  the  Prtissiatis.  He  had  many  facilities  for 
coming  in  contact  with  men  of  all  parties  and  of  all  classes,  and  ascertain- 
ing the  actual  motives  which  animated  them,  and  their  real  ultimate  aims. 
These  facilities  he  took  advantage  of  and  in  his  diary,  day  by  day,  care- 
fully recorded  the  results  of  his  obso-vations,  as  well  as  faithfdly  but 
graphically  photographed  the  various  incidents  of  the  siege  which  came 
under  his  o-.vn  notice,  the  actual  condition  of  the  besieged,  the  sayings  and 
doings,  the  hopes  and  fears  of  the  people  among  whom  he  freely  nuroed. 
In  the  Appendix  is  an  exhaustive  and  elaborate  account  of  the  Orgaiiization 
of  the  Republican  party,  sent  to  the  author  by  M.  J  ides  Andricu  ;  and  a 
translation  of  the  Manifesto  of  the  Commune  to  the  People  of  England, 
dated  April  ig,  187 1.  ''The  author  tells  his  story  admirably.  The 
Oxford  Graduate  seems  to  have  gone  everyivhere,  heard  what  everyone  had 
to  say,  and  so  been  able  to  give  us  photographs  of  Paris  life  during  the 
siege  which  we  have  not  had  from  any  other  source.'' — Spectator. 
"//.'  has  written  brightly,  lightly,  and  pleasantly,  yet  in  perfect  good 
taste." — Saturday  Re\ iew. 


Prichard.— THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  INDIA.  From 
1859  to  1868.  The  First  Ten  Years  of  Administration  under  the 
Crown.  By  Iltudus  Thomas  Prichard,  Barrister-at-Law. 
Two  Vols.     Demy  8vo.     With  Map.     21s. 

In  these  volumes  the  author  has  aimed  to  supply  a  full,  impartial,  and 
independent  account  of  British  India  between  1859  and  \%t>%— which  is 
in  many  respects  the  most  important  epoch  in  the  history  of  that  country 
that  the  present  century  has  seen.     "  //  has  the  great  mait  that  it  is  not 
exclusively  drooted,  as  are  too  many  histoHes,  to  military  and  political 
details,  but  enters  thoroughly  into  the  more  important  questions  of  social 
history.       We  find  in   these  volumes  a  well-arranged  and  compendious 
reference  to  almost  all  that  has  been  done  in  India  during  the  last  ten 
years  ;  and  the  most  important  oßcial  documents  and  historical  pieces  are 
well  selected  and  duly  set  forth." — Scotsman.     '"//  is  a  tvork  which 
eivery  Englishman  in  India  ought  to   add  to  his  library."— %ta^   of 
India. 

£  2 


20    MACMILLAN'S  CATALOGUE  OF  WORKS  IN 


HISTORY,  BIOGRAPHY,  &*   TRAVELS. 


21 


Robinson  (H.  Crabb)— THE  DIARY,  REMINISCENCflS, 
AND  CORRESPONDENCE,  OF  HENRY  CRABB  ROBIN- 
SON, Barrister-at-Law.  Selected  and  Edited  by  Thomas 
Sadler,  Ph.D.  With  Portrait  Third  and  Cheaper  Edition. 
Two  Vols.     Crown  8vo.     i6s. 

The  Daily  News  says:  "  The  tiuo  hooks  which  arc  most  likely  to 
sunive  change  of  literary  taste^  and  to  charm  while  instructing  generation 
after  generation,  are  the  'Diary'  of  Pcpys  and  BosiuelVs  ''Life  of 
Johnson. '  The  day  zvill  come  tuhen  to  these  many  will  add  the  '  Diary  of 
Henry  Crahb  Robinson.'  Excellences  like  those  which  render  the  personal 
rrMations  of  Pepys  and  the  observations  of  Bord'cll  such  pleasant  reading 
aboujul  in  this  7uork  .  ...  In  it  is  to  he  found  something  to  suit  every  taste 
and  inform  rjery  mind.  For  the  general  reader  it  contains  much  light  and 
amusing  matter.  To  the  loz'er  of  literature  it  conveys  information  which 
he  will  prize  highly  on  account  of  its  accuracy  and  rarity.  The  student  of 
social  life  will  gather  from  it  many  valuable  hints  whereon  to  base 
theories  as  to  the  effects  on  English  society  of  the  progress  of  civilization. 
For  these  and  other  reasons  this  *  Diary '  is  a  work  to  zvhich  a  hearty 
welcome  should  he  accorded. " 

Rogers  (James  E.  Thorold).— HISTORICAL  GLEAN- 
INGS :  A  Series  of  Sketches.  Montague,  Walpole,  Adam  Smith, 
Cobbett.  By  Prof.  Rogers.  Crown  8vo.  4J.  6d.  Second  Series. 
Wiklif,  Laud,  Wilkes,  and  Home  Tooke. 


Crown  8vo.     (>s. 


Professor  Rogers's  object  in  these  sketches,  which  are  in  the  fortn  of 
Lectures,  is  to  present  a  set  of  historical  facts,  grouped  round  a  prijtcipal 
figure.  The  author  has  aimed  to  state  the  social  facts  of  the  time  in 
which  the  individual  whose  history  is  handled  took  part  in  public  business. 
It  is  from  sketches  like  these  of  the  great  men  who  took  a  prominent 
and  influential  part  in  the  affairs  of  their  time  that  a  clear  conception  of 
the  social  and  economical  condition  of  our  ancestors  can  be  obtained. 
History  learned  in  this  way  is  both  instructive  and  agreeable.  "  His  Essays, " 
the  Pall  Mall  Gazette  says,  "■  are  full  of  interest,  prgnant,  thoughtful, 
and  readable.''  *'  They  rank  far  above  the  average  of  similar  perfor- 
mances," says  the  WESTMINSTER  Revie\y. 

Raphael.— RAPHAEL  OF  URBINO  AND  HIS  FATHER 
GIOVANNI  SANTI.  By  J.  D.  Passavant,  formeriy  Director 
of  the  Museum  at  Frankfort.  With  Twenty  Permanent  Photo- 
graphs.    RoyDl  8vo.     Handsomely  bound,     ^is.  td. 


lo  the  enlarged  French  edition  of  Passavant' s  Life  of  Raphael,  that 

painter's  admirers  have  turned  7vhenever  they  have  sought  information, 

ami  it  ivill  doubtless  remain  for  many  years  the  best  book  of  reference  on 

all  questions  pertaining  to  the  great  painter.      The  present  work  consists 

of  a  trajis/ation  of  those  paj'ts  of  Passavant' s  volumes  which  are  most 

likely  to  ii  der  est  the  general  reader.     Besides  a  complete  life  of  Raphael,  it 

contains  the  valuable  descriptions  of  all  his  known  paintings,  and  the 

Chronological  Index,  which  is  of  so  much  serviee  to  amateurs  xvho  wish  to 

study   the  progressive  character   of  his  works.       The  Illustrations   by 

Woodbury's  nnu  permanent  process  of  photography,  are  taken  from  the 

finest  engravings  that  could  he  procured,  and  have  been  chosen  with  the 

intention  of  giving  examples  of  Raphael's  various  styles  of  painting.      The 

Saturday  Review  says  of  theyn,   *'  We  have  seen  not  a  fexu  elegant 

specimens  of  Mr.    Woodbujys  new  process,  but  we  have  seen  none  that 

equal  these. " 

Sadler.— EDWIN    WILKINS    field.      a   Memorial   Sketch- 
By  Thomas  Sadler,  Ph.D.    With  a  Portrait.    Crown  Svo.    a^.  6d. 

Mr.  Field  7uas  well  known  during  his  life-time  not  only  as  an  eminent 
lawyer  aiid  a  strenuous  and  successfid  advocate  of  law  reform,  but,  both 
in  England  and  Atnerica,  as  a  f?ian  of  wide  and  thorough  cidture,  varied 
tastes,  largc-heartedness,  and  lofty  aims.  His  sudden  death  was  looked 
upon  as  a  public  loss,  and  it  is  expected  that  this  brief  Memoir  will  be 
acceptable  to  a  large  number  outside  of  the  many  friends  at  zt'hose  request 
it  has  been  written. 

Somers   (Robert).— THE  SOUTHERN   STATES    SINCE 
THE  WAR.     By  Robert  Somers.     With  Map.     8vo.     9^-. 

This  work  is  the  result  of  inquiries  made  by  the  author  of  all  authorities 
compete  fit  to  afford  him  information,  and  of  his  07vn  observation  during  a 
lengthened  sojourn  in  the  Southern  States,  to  which  ivritei's  on  America  so 
seldom  direct  their  steps.  The  author's  object  is  to  give  some  account  of  the 
conditiojt  of  the  Southern  States  under  the  new  social  ajtd  political  system 
introduced  by  the  civil  wai'.  He  has  here  collected  such  notes  of  the  progress 
of  their  cotton  plantations,  of  the  state  of  their  labouring  population  and  of 
their  industrial  enterprises,  as  may  help  the  reader  to  a  safe  opinion  of 
their  means  and  prospects  of  development.  He  also  gives  such  information 
of  their  natural  resources,  railways,  and  other  public  works,  as  may 
tend  to  shoiv  to  what  extent  they  are  fitted  to  become  a  profitable  field  of 


22     MACMILLAN'S  CATALOGUE  OF  WORKS  IN 


enlarged  immigration^  settlement,  and  foreign  trade.  The  volume  contains 
many  valuable  and  reliable  details  as  to  the  condition  of  the  Negro  popula- 
tion, the  state  of  Education  and  Religion,  of  Cotton,  Sugar,  and  Tobacco 
Cultivation,  of  Agriculture  generally,  of  Coal  and  Iron  Mining,  Manu- 
factures, Trade,  Means  of  Locomotion,  and  the  condition  of  Torvns  and  op 
Society.  A  large  map  of  the  Southern  States  by  Messrs,  JV.  affd  A.  K. 
Johnston  is  appended,  which  sho7vs  with  great  clear juss  the  Cotton,  Coal, 
and  Iron  districts,  the  raihvays  completed  and  projected,  the  State  boundaries, 
and  other  important  details.  "  Full  of  interesting  and  7<aluable  informa- 
tion.''—S\T\]KT>\\  Review. 


Smith     (Professor     Goldwin).  — THREE 

STATESMEN.    See  p.  37  of  this  Catalogue. 


ENGLISH 


Streets  and  Lanes  of  a  City. — See  Dutton  (Amy)  p.  31 

of  this  Catalogue. 

Tacitus.— THE  HISTORY  OF  TACITUS,  translated  into 
English.  By  A.  J.  Church,  M.A.  and  W.  J.  Brodribb,  M.A. 
With  a  Map  and  Notes.     8vo.     los.  6d. 

The  translators  have  endeavoured  to  adhere  as  closely  to  the  original  as 
was  thought  consistent  ivith  a  proper  obse7'vance  of  English  idiom.  At 
the  same  time  it  has  been  their  aim  to  reproduce  the  precise  expressions  of 
the  author.  This  work  is  characterised  by  the  Spectator  as  *'  a  scholarly 
andfaithjul  translation.'^'* 

THE  AGRICOLA  AND  GERMANIA.  Translated  into  English  by 
A.  J.  Church,  M.A.  and  W.  J.  Brodribb,  M.A.  With  Maps 
and  Notes.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.     2s.  dd. 

The  translators  have  sought  to  produce  such  a  version  as  may  satisfy 
scholars  who  demand  a  faithful  rendering  of  the  original,  and  English 
readei-s  who  are  offended  by  the  baldness  and  frigidity  which  commonly 
disfigure  translations.      The  treatises  are  accompanied  by  Introductions, 
Notes,  Maps,  and  a  chronological  Summary.     The  Athenaeum  says  of 
this  work  that  it  is  "  a  version  at  once  readable  and  exact,  which  may  be 
perused  with  pleasure  by  all,  and  consulted  with  advantage  by  the  classical 
student;''  and  the 'Pai.j.  Mall  Gazette  says,"  IVhat  the  editors  have 
attempted  to  do,  it  is  not,  we  think  probable  that  any  living  scholars  could 
hoTfe  done  better. ^^ 


HISTORY,  BIOGRAPHY,  <5-   TRAVELS. 


23 


Taylor    (Rev.    Isaac).— WORDS    and    PLACES. 

p.  44  of  tliis  Catalogue. 


See 


Trench  (Archbishop).— For  other  Works  by  the  same  Author, 
see  Theological  and  Belles  Lettres  Catalogues,  and  p.  45 
of  this  Catalogue. 

GUSTAVUS  ADOLPHUS  :  Social  Aspects  of  the  Thirty  Years, 
War.  By  R.  Chenevix  Trench,  D.D.,  Archbishop  of  Dublin. 
Fcap.  8vo.     2s.  6d. 

**  Clear  and  lucid  in  style,  these  lectures  iinll  be  a  treasure  to  many  t(s 
whom  the  subject  is  unfamiliar.'''' — Dublin  Evening  Mail.     "  IVtese 
Lectures  are  vizid  and  graphic  sketches:    the  first  treats  of  the  great: 
King  of  Sxveden,  and  of  his  character  rather  than  of  his  actions ;  the 
second  describes  the  condition  of  Germany  in  that  dreadful  time  zühen- 
famine,  biUtles,  atui pestilence,  though  they  exterminated  three-fourths  of  the 
population,  were  Jess  terrible  than  the  fiend-like  cruelty,  the  utter  lawless- 
ness and  depravity,  bred  of  long  anarchy  and  sußhing.      The  substance  of  ' 
the  lectures  is  drawn  from  contemporary  accounts,  which  give  to  then: 
especial  freshness  and  life^ — Literary  Churchman. 

Trench  (Mrs.  R.)— Remains  of  the  late  Mrs.  RICHARD 
TRENCH.  Being  Selections  from  her  Journals,  Letters,  and 
other  Papers.  Edited  by  Archbishop  Trench.  New  and 
Cheaper  Issue,  with  Portrait.     8vo.    6j-. 

Contains  Notices  and  Atiecdotes  illustrating  the  social  life  of  the  period' 
— extending  over  a  quarter  of  a  cejitury  {1799 — 1827).     H  includes  also 
Poems  and  other  miscellaneoits  pieces  by  Mrs.  Trench. 

Wallace. — Works  by  Alfred  Rüssel  Wallace.  For  otliei: 
Works  by  same  Author,  see  Scientific  Catalogue^ 

Br.  Hooker,  in  his  address  to  the  British  Association,  spoke  thus  of  the 
author ;— **  Of  Mr.  Wallace  and  his  many  contributions  to  philosophical 
biology  it  is  not  easy  to  speak  without  enthusiasm  ;  for,  putting  aside  their 
great  merits,  he,  throughout  his  7vritings,  with  a  fnodesty  as  rare  as  l' 
beliei'e  it  to  be  utuonscious,  forgets  his  own  unquestioned  claim  to  the  horn  vir 
of  having  originated,  independently  of  Mr.  Darwin,  the  theories  which' 
he  so  ably  defends.'^ 


24 


MACMILLAN'S  CATALOGUE  OF  WORKS  IN 


HISTORY,  BIOGRAPHY,  ^  TRAVELS.  25 


Wallace   (A.    ^.)— continued. 

A   NARRATIVE   OF   TRAVELS    ON    THE    AMAZON   AND 
RIO  NEGRO,  with  an  Account  of  the  Native  Tribes,  and  Obser- 
vations on   the  Climate,    Geology,    and  Natural   History  of   the 
Amazon  Valley.     With  a  Map  and  Illustrations.     8vo.      lis. 
Mr.  Wallace  is  ackncnvlcdged  as  one  of  the  first  of  modern  travellers 

and  naturalists.      This,  his  earliest  work,  will  be  found  to  possess  many 

charms  for  the  general  reader,  and  to  be  full  of  interest  to  the  student  of 

natural  history. 

THE  MALAY  ARCHIPELAGO  :  the  Land  of  the  Orang  Utan 
and  the  Bird  of  Paradise.  A  Narrative  of  Travel  with  Studies 
of  Man  and  Nature.  With  Maps  and  Illustrations,  Third  and 
Cheaper  Edition.     Crown  8vo.     7^.  (>d. 

"  The  result  is  a  vivid  picture  of  tropical  life,  which  may  be  7-ead  with 
unflagging  interest,  and  a  sufficient  account  of  his  scientific  conclusions  to 
stimulate  our  appetite  without  wearying  us  by  detail.  In  short,  ive  may 
safely  say  that  we  have  never  read  a  more  agreeable  book  of  its  kind.'' — 
Saturday  Review.  *^  His  descriptions  of  scenery,  of  the  people  and 
their  manners  and  customs,  enlivened  by  occasional  amusing  anecdotes, 
constitute  the  most  interesting  reading  we  have  taken  up  for  some  time.'' — 
Standard. 

Ward  (Professor).— THE  HOUSE  OF  AUSTRIA  IN  THE 
THIRTY  YEARS'  WAR.     Two  Lectures,  with  Notes  and  Illus- 
trations.    By  Adolphus  W.  Ward,  M.A.,  Professor  of  History 
in  Owens  College,  Manchester.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.     2s.  6d. 
These  tivo  Lectures  7vere  delivered  in  February,  1869,  at  the  Philosophical 
Institution,  Edinburgh,  and  arenozv  published  with  Notes  and  Illustrations, 
bear  more  thoroughly  the  impress  of  one  who  has  a  true  and  vigorous  grasp 
"  We  have  never  read,"  says  the  Saturday  Review,  ^^  any  lectures  zvhich 
of  the  subject  in  hand."     **  They  are,"  the  Scotsman  says,  ''the fruit  of 
much  labour  and  learning,  and  it  would  be  difficidt  to  compress  into  a 
hundred  pages  more  information" 

Warren.— AN   ESSAY  ON  GREEK  FEDERAL  COINAGE. 
By  the  Hon.  J.  Leicester  Warren,  M.A.     8vo.     2s.  6d. 

The  present  essay  is  an  attempt  to  illustrate  Mr.  Freeman  s  Federal 
Gaiernment  try  ez'idence  deduced  from  the  coinage  of  the  times  and  countries 
therein  treated  of 


Wedgwood.— JOHN  WESLEY  AND  THE  EVANGELICAL 
REACTION  of  the  Eighteenth  Century.  By  JULIA  Wedgwood. 
Crown  8vo.     Sj.  6d. 

This  book  is  a7i  attempt  to  delineate  tJie  influence  of  a  particular  man 
upon  his  age.  The  backg-round  to  the  central  figure  is  treated  with 
considerable  minuteness,  the  object  of  representation  being  not  the  vicissitude 
of  a  particular  life,  but  that  elemetit  in  the  life  which  impressed  itself  oti 
the  life  of  a  nation, — an  element  which  cannot  be  understood  without  a 
study  of  aspects  of  national  thoztght  which  on  a  superficial  vieru  might 
appear  7vholly  unconnected  with  it.  ''In  style  and  intellectual powa-,  in 
breadth  of  7>ieiu  and  clearness  of  insight.  Miss  Wedgwood's  book  far 
surpasses  all  rivals^ — Athenaeum.  "As  a  short  account  of  the  most 
remarkable  movement  in  the  eighteenth  century,  it  must  fairly  be  described 
as  excellent." — Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

Wilson. — A  MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  WILSON,  M.  D., 
F.R.S.E.,   Regius  Professor  of  Technology  in  the  University  of 


Edinburgh. 


By  his  Sister.     New  Edition.     Crown  8vo.     ds. 


"  An  exquisite  and  touching  portrait  of  a  rare  and  beautiful  spirit." — 
Guardian.  "He  more  than  most  men  of  whom  we  have  lately  read 
desei'ved  a  minute  and  cai'eful  biography,  and  by  such  alone  could  he  be 
understood,  and  become  loveable  and  influential  to  his  fellow-men.  Such 
a  biography  his  sister  has  written,  in  zvhich  letters  reach  almost  to  the 
extent  of  a  complete  autobiography,  with  all  the  additional  charm  of  bein^ 
unconsciously  such.  We  revere  and  admire  the  heart,  and  earnestly  praise 
the  patient  tender  hand,  by  which  such  a  zvorthy  record  of  the  earth-stojy 
of  one  of  God's  true  angel-rnen  has  been  constructed  for  our  delight  and 
profit." — Nonconformist. 

Wilson  (Daniel,  LL.D.) — Works  by  Daniel  Wilson, 
LL.D.,  Professor  of  History  and  English  Literature  in  University 
College,   Toronto  : — 

PREHISTORIC  ANNALS  OF  SCOTLAND.  New  Edition, 
with  numerous  Illustrations.      Two  Vols,  demy  8vo.     36^. 

One  object  aimed  at  when  the  book  first  appeared  was  to  rescue  archcEological 
research  fi  om  that  limited  range  to  which  a  too  exclusive  drjotion  to  classical 
studies  had  given  rise,  and,  especially  in  relation  to  Scotland,  to  prove  how 
greatly  more  comprehensive  and  important  are  its  native  antiquities  than  all 


36    MACMILLAN'S  CATALOGUE  OF  WORKS  IS 


Wilson   (Daniel,  LL.D.)— ,w///////^,/. 

the  traces  of  intruded  art.  The  aim  has  been  to  a  lai-^e  extent  effectually 
accomplished,  and  such  an  impulse  given  to  arehcrologieal  research,  that  in 
this  new  editioft  the  whole  of  the  work  has  had  to  he  remodelled.  Fully  a 
third  of  it  has  been  entirely  re-written;  and  the  remaiiting  portions  have 
undergone  so  minute  a  revision  as  to  render  it  in  many  respects  a  new 
work.  The  number  of  pictorial  illustrations  has  been  greatly  increased, 
and  several  of  the  former  plates  and  woodcuts  ha7>e  been  7-e-engra''ed 
from  new  drawings.  This  is  divided  into  four  Farts.  Fart  I.  deals 
with  The  Primeval  or  Stone  Period  :  Aboriginal  Traces,  Sepulchral 
Memorials,  Dwellings,  and  Catacombs,  Tetnples,  Weapons,  etc.  etc.; 
Fart  21.  The  Bronze  Period  :  The  Metallurgie  Transition,  Frimitivt 
Bronze,  Personal  Ornaments,  Religion,  Arts,  and  Domestic  Habits,  with 
other  topics  ;  Fart  III.  The  Iron  Period  :  The  Introduction  of  Iron,  The 
Roman  Invasion,  Strongholds,  etc.  etc.;  Fart  IV.  The  Christian  Period : 
Historical  Data,  the  Norrie' s  Law  Relics,  Frimitive  and  Mediaval 
Eeclesiology,  Ecclesiastical  and  Miscellaneous  Antiquities.  The  work  is 
furnished  with  an  elaborate  Index.  "  One  of  the  most  interesting,  learned, 
and  elegant  works  we  have  seen  for  a  long  time.'''' — Westminster 
Review.  "  The  intei-est  connected  with  this  beautiful  volume  is  not 
limited  to  that  pari  of  the  kingdom  to  Tvhich  it  is  chiefly  de7'oted ;  it  will  be 
consulted  with  advantage  and  gratiflcation  by  all  who  have  a  regard  for 
National  Antiquities  and  for  the  advancement  of  scientific  Archceology.^'' — 
Arch^ological  Journal. 


PREHISTORIC  MAN.     New  Edition,  revised  and  partly  re-written, 
veith  numerous  Illustrations.     One  vol.  8vo.     ils. 

This  work,  which  carries  out  the  principle  of  the  preceding  one,  but  with 
a  wider  scope,  aims  to  "  virtv  Man,  as  far  as  possible,  unaflected  by  those 
modifying  influences  which  accompany  the  development  of  nations  atid  the 
maturity  of  a  true  historic  period,  in  order  thereby  to  ascertain  the  sources 
from  whence  such  dn>elopment  and  maturity  pi'oceed.  These  researches 
into  the  origin  of  civilization  have  accordingly  been  pursued  under  the  belief 
which  influenced  the  author  in  previous  inquiries  that  the  investigations 
cf  the  archaeologist,  when  carried  on  in  an  enlightened  spirit,  are  replete 
with  interest  in  relation  to  so?ne  of  the  most  important  problems  of  modern 
science.  To  reject  the  aid  of  arehceology  in  the  progress  of  science,  and 
especially  of  ethnological  science,  is  to  extinguish  the  lamp  of  the  student 
when  most  ilependent  on  its  borrozued  rays."  A  prolonged  residence  on 
some  of  the  nervest  sites  of  the  Ne7u  World  has  afl^orded  the  author  many 


HISTORY,  BIOGRAPHY.  &^  TRAVELS. 


27 


Wilson    (Daniel,  L,L,.D.)— continued 

opportunities  of  investigating  the  antiquities  of  the  American  Aborigines, 
and  of  bringing  to  light  many  facts  of  high  importance  in  reference  to 
primez'al  man.  The  changes  in  the  nero  edition,  necessitated  by  the  great 
advance  in  A  re /urology  since  the  first,  include  both  reconstruction  and 
condensation,  along  with  considerable  additions  alike  in  illustration  and 
in  argument.  *'  We  find,''  says  the  Athen.^uM,  "  the  main  idea  of  his 
treatise  to  be  a  pre-eminently  scientific  one, — namely,  by  archccological 
records  to  obtain  a  definite  conception  of  the  origin  and  nature  of  man's 
earliest  efforts  at  civilization  in  the  Nr.u  World,  and  to  endeavour  to  dis- 
cover, as  if  by  analogy,  the  necessary  conditions,  phases,  and  epochs  through 
which  man  in  the  prehistoric  stage  in  the  Old  World  also  must  necessarily 
have  passed:'  The  North  British  Review  calls  if  **  a  mature  and 
nullow  work  of  an  able  man  ;  free  alike  from  crotchets  and  from  dog' 
matism,  and  exhibiting  on  every  page  the  caution  and  moderation  of  a 
well-balanced  judgment. " 

CHATTERTON:  A  Biographical  Study.  By  Daniel  Wilson, 
LL.D.,  Professor  of  History  and  English  Literature  in  University 
College,  Toronto.     Crown  8vo.     6j-,  dd. 

The  author  here  regards  CJiatterton  as  a  poet,  not  as  a  ^^  mere  resetter 
and  defacer  of  stolen  literary  treasures.''  Reviewed  in  this  light,  he  has 
found  much  in  the  old  materials  capable  of  bang  turned  to  nroj  account : 
and  to  these  materials  research  in  various  directions  has  eitabled  him  to 
make  some  additions.  He  believes  that  the  boy-poet  has  been  misjudged,  and 
that  the  biographies  hithei'to  written  of  him  arc  ne»t  only  imperfect  but 
untrue.  While  dealing  tenderly,  the  author  has  sought  to  deal  truthfully 
with  the  failings  as  7vell  as  the  virtues  of  the  boy :  bearing  always  in 
remembrance,  what  has  been  too  frequently  lost  sight  of,  that  he  was  but  a 
boy  ;~a  boy,  and  yet  a  poet  of  rare  pozver.  The  Examiner  thinks  this 
*Uhe  most  complete  and  the  purest  biography  of  the  poet  which  has  yd 
appeared."  The  Literary  Churchman  calls  if  ^' a  most  charming 
literary  biography. " 

Yonge  (Charlotte  M.)— Works  by  Charlotte  M.  Yonge, 
Author  of  "The  Heir  of  Redely  fife,"  &c.  &c.  :— 

A    PARALLEL    HISTORY   OF   FRANCE    AND    ENGLAND; 
consisting  of  Outlines  and  Dates.     Oblong  4to.     3-r.  6d. 
This  tahdar  history  has  been  drawn  up  to  supply  a  want  felt  by  many 
teachers  of  some  means  of  making  their  pupils  realize  what  events ,  in  the 


ra 


28 


MACMILLAN'S  CATALOGUE. 


Yonge  (Charlotte  Vl.)— continued. 

two  countries  were  contemporary.  A  skeleton  narrative  has  been  constructed 
f)f  the  chief  transactions  in  either  country^  placing  a  column  behueen  for 
■what  affected  both  alike^  by  which  nieaiis  it  is  hoped  that  young  people  may 
be  assisted  in  grasping  the  mutual  relation  of  events. 

CAMEOS  FROM  ENGLISH  HISTORY.     From  Rollo  to  Edward 
II.     Extra  fcap.     8vo.     Second  Edition,  enlarged.     5^. 
A  Second  Series,  THE  WARS  IN  FRANCE.     Extra  fcap. 
8vo.     ^s. 

The  etuleavour  has  not  been  to  chronicle  facts,  but  to  put  together  a  series 
of  pictures  of  persons  and  events^  so  as  to  arrest  the  attention,  and  give 
some  individuality  and  distinctness  to  the  recollection,  by  gathering  together 
details  of  the  most  memorable  moments.  The  ' '  Cameos  "  are  intended  as 
a  booh  for  young  people  ßtst  beyond  the  elementary  histories  of  England, 
and  able  to  enter  in  some  degree  into  the  real  spirit  of  events,  and  to  be 
struck  with  characters  and  scerics  presented  in  some  relief  *■'■  Instead  of 
dry  details,'''  says  the  NONCONFORMIST,  **  we  have  living  pictures,  faithful, 
7'ivid,  and striking.^^ 

Young    (Julian     Charles,     M.A.)— A   MEMOIR    OF 

CHARLES  MAVNE  YOUNG,  Tragedian,  with  Extracts 
from  his  Son's  Journal.  By  JULIAN  Charles  Young,  M.A. 
Rector  of  Ilmington.  With  Portraits  and  Sketches.  Neiü  and 
Cheaper  Edition.     Crown  8vo.     7^.  dd. 

Round  this  memoir  of  one  who  held  no  mean  place  in  public  estimation 
as  a  tragedian,  and  who^  as  a  man,  by  the  unobtrusive  simplicity  and 
moral  purity  of  his  private  life,  won  golden  opinions  frofu  all  sorts  of  men, 
are  clustered  extracts  from  the  author's  Journals,  containing  many 
curious  and  interesting  reminiscences  of  his  father's  and  his  aivti  ejninent 
and  famous  contemporaries  and  acquaintances,  somnvhat  after  the  manner 
of  If.  Crabb  Robinson's  Diary.  Every  page  will  be  found  jull  both  oj 
entertainment  and  instruction.  It  contains  four  portraits  of  the  tragedian, 
and  a  few  other  curious  sketches.  "  In  this  budget  of  anecdotes,  fables,  and 
gossip,  old  and  neiv,  relative  to  Scott,  Moore,  Chabners,  Coleridge,  Words- 
worth, Croker,  Mathe^vs,  the  third  and  fourth  Geoiges,  Bolides ^  Beckford, 
J.ockhart,  Wellington,  Peel,  Louis  Napoleon,  D'Orsay,  Dickens, 
Thackeray,  Louis  Blcnc^  Gibson,  Constable,  and  Stan  field,  etc.  etc.  the 
reader  must  be  hard  indeed  to  please  who  cannot  find  etttertainmeftt.'^ — 
Pall  Mall  Gazette. 


POLITICS,  POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL 
ECONOMY,  LAW,  AND  KINDRED 
SUBJECTS. 

Baxter.— NATIONAL   INCOME:   The    United   Kingdom.     By 
R.  Dudley  Baxter,  M.A.     Svo.     3^.  6d. 

The  present  work  endeavours  to  ans'U'cr  systematically  iuch  questions 
as  the  follo7ving: —  What  are  the  means  and  aggregate  wages  of  our 
labouring  population  ;  what  are  the  numbers  and  aggregate  profits 
of  the  middle  classes ;  7vhat  the  rez'enues  of  our  great  proprietors 
and  capitalists  ;  and  what  the  pecuniary  strength  of  the  nation  to 
bear  the  burdens  annually  falling  upon  us  ?  What  capital  in 
la  fid  and  goods  and  money  is  stojrd  up  for  our  subsistence,  and  for 
carrying  out  our  enterprises  '^  The  author  has  collected  his  facts 
frojn  eveiy  quarter  and  tested  them  in  various  7uays,  in  order  to 
make  his  statetnents  and  deductions  valuable  and  trustworthy. 
Part  I.  of  the  work  deals  7£///// ///<?  Classification  of  the  Population 
into — Chap.  I.  The  Income  Classes  ;  Chap.  LI.  The  Upper  and 
Middle  and  Manual  Labour  Classes.  Part  LI.  treats  of  the  In- 
come of  the  United  Kingdom,  divided  into — Chap.  III.  Upper 
and  Middle  Incomes  ;  Chap.  IV.  Wages  of  the  Manual  Labour 
Classes— England  and  Wales  ;  Chap.  V.  Income  of  Scotland  ; 
Chap.  VI.  Income  of  Ireland  ;  Chap.  VII.  Income  of  the 
United  Kingdom.  In  the  Appendix  will  be  found  many  7-aluable 
and  carefully  compiled  tables,  illustrating  in  detail  the  subjects 
discussed  in  the  text. 

Bernard.— FOUR  LECTURES  ON  subjects  connected 

WITH  DIPLOMACY.  By  Mountague  Bernard,  M.A., 
Chichele  Professor  of  International  Law  and  Diplomacy,  Oxford. 
8vo.     9^. 


iiW^iawW»'~*^:-'W«''    ~~ 


30 


MACMILLAN'S  CATALOGUE  OF 


WOKKS  IN  POLITICS,  ETC. 


31 


These  four  ledures  deal  zuith—L  "  The  Congress  of  Westphalia  ;  " 
//.  '' Systems  of  Poliey  ;''  III.  '' Diplomacy,  Past  and  Present ;'' 
IV.  ''The  Obligations  of  Treaties.''— ''Singularly  interesting 
.  lectures,  so  able,  clear,  and  attractive."— Spectatok.  "The 
author  of  these  lectures  is  full  of  the  kno^oledge  ivhieh  belongs  to 
his  subject,  a-nd  has  that  pozcer  of  clear  and  vigorous  expression 
which  results  from  clear  and  vigorous  thought.'''' — Sco'J'.-^MAN. 

Bright  (John,  M. P.)— SPEECHES  ON  QUESTIONS  OF 
PUIJLIC  POEICV.  By  the  Right  Plon.  John  Bright,  M.P. 
Edited  by  Professor  Thorold  Rogers.    Author's  Popular  Edition. 


Globe  Svo. 


y. 


6d 


The  speeches  which  have  been  selected  for  publication  in  these  volumes 
possess  a  value,  as  examples  of  the  art  of  public  speaking,  zvhich  no 
person  will  be  likely  to  underrate.  The  speeches  have  been  selected 
with  a  v'unv  of  supplying  the  public  with  the  ezidence  on  which  Mr. 
Bright' s  friends  assert  his  right  to  a  place  in  the  front  rank  of 
English  statesmen.  They  are  diviiled  into  groups,  according 
to  their  sulyects.  The  editor  has  naturally  given  prominence  to 
those  subjects  zoith  which  Mr.  Bright  has  been  specially  identified, 
as,  for  example,  India,  America,  Ireland,  and  Parliamentary 
Reform.  J-lnt  nearly  r.ery  topic  of  great  public  interest  on  which 
Mr.  Bright  has  spoken  is  represented  in  these  volumes.  "Mr. 
Bright' s  speeches  zvill  always  deserve  to  be  studied,  as  an  apprentice- 
ship to  popular  and  parliamentary  oratory ;  they  zoill  form 
materials  for Jhc  history  of  our  time,  and  many  brilliant  passages, 
perhaps  some  entire  speeches,  will  really  become  a  part  of  the  liznng 
literature  of  England.'' — DAILY  News. 

LIBRARY  EDPl  ION.     Two  Vols.  8vo.     With  Portrait.     25^. 

Christie.— THE  BALLOT  AND  CORRUPTION  AND 
EXPENDITURE  AT  ELECTIONS,  a  Collection  of  Essays  and 
Addresses  of  different  dates.  ByW.  D.  Christie,  C.B.,  formerly 
Her  Majesty's  Minister  to  the  Argentine  Confederation  and  to 
Brazil ;  Author  of  "  Life  of  the  First  Earl  of  Shaftesbury."  Crown 
8vo.     4-v.  6(1. 

Mr.  Christie  ha:  been  well  kncrwn  for  iipivards  of  thirty  years  as  a 
strenuous  and  able  advocate  for  the  Ballot,  both  in  his  place  in 
Parliament  and  elsezvhere.      The  papers  and  speeches  here  collected 


are  six  in  number,  exclusive  of  the  Prejace  and  Dedication  to  Pro- 
fessor Maurice,  zohich  contains  many  interesting  historical  details 
concerning  the  Ballot.  "  You  have  thought  to  greater  purpose  on 
the  means  of  preventing  electoral  corruption,  and  arc  likely  to-be  of 
more  service  in  passing  measures  for  that  highly  important  end, 
then  any  other  person  that  I  could  name.'' — ^J.  S.  Mill,  in  a 
published  letter  to  the  Author,  May  1868. 

Corfield  (Professor  W.  H.)— A  DIGEST  OF  FACTS 
RELATING  TO  THE  TREATMENT  AND  UTILIZATION 
OF  SEWAGE.  By  W.  H.  Coriteld,  M.A.,  B.A.,  Professor  of 
Hygiene  and  Public  Health  at  University  College,  London.  8vo. 
los.  dd.     Second  Edition,  corrected  and  enlarged. 

///  this  edition  the  author  has  rei'ised  and  corrected  the  entire  work, 
and  made  many  important  additions.  The  headings  of  the  eleven 
chapters  are  as  follaio : — /.  "Early  Systems:  Midden-Hcaps  and 
Cesspools."  II  "Filth  and  Disease— Cause  and  Effect."  Ill  "Im- 
proved Midden- Pits  and  Cesspools ;  Midden-Closets,  Pail-Closets, 
etc."  IV.  "The  Dry-Closet  Systems."  V.  "Water- Closets."  VI. 
"  Sezaerage."  VII.  " Saiiitary  Aspects  of  the  Water- Carrying 
System."  VIII.  "Value  of  Sewage;  Injury  to  Rivers."  IX. 
Tozon  Sezvage ;  Attempts  at  Utilization."  X.  "Filtration  and 
Irrigation.''''  XI.  "Influence  of  Sewage  Farming  on  the  Public 
Health."  An  abridged  account  of  the  more  recently  published 
researches  on  the  subject  will  be  found  in  the  Appendices,  zvhile  the 
Summary  contains  a  concise  statement  of  the  views  zu  hick  the  author 
himself  has  been  led  to  adopt ;  I'cferences  have  been  inserted  thi'ough- 
oiit  to  shozu  from  zu  hat  sources  the  numerous  quotations  have  been 
derived,  and  an  Index  has  been  added.  "Mr.  Corfield' s  work  is 
entitled  to  rank  as  a  standard  authority,  no  less  than  a  convenient 
handbook,  in  all  iiuitters  relating  to  sezvage.'' — ATHENy^iUM. 

Dutton   (Amy).— STREETS    and    LANES    of    a    CITY: 

being  the  Reminiscences  of  Amy  Dutton.     With  a  Preface  by 
the  Bishop  of  Salisbury.     Pp.  viii.  159.     Globe  8vo.    3^^.  6d. 

This  little  volume  records  "a  portion  of  the  experience,  selected  out  of 
overfiozuing  materials,  of  tzvo  ladies,  during  several  years  of  devoted 
züork  as  district  parochial  visitors  in  a  large  population  in  the 
North  of  England."    The  "Reminiscences  of  Amy  Dutton"  serve 


V 


32 


MACMILLAN'S  CATALOGUE  OF 


to  illustrate  the  line  of  argument  adopted  by  Miss  Stephen  in  her 
work  on  the  ''Service  of  the  Poor,''  because  they  show  that  as  in  one 
aspect  the  lady  visitor  may  be  said  to  he  a  link  betiveen  rich  and 
poor,  in  another  she  helps  to  blend  the  ''religious''  life  with  the 
"secular,"  and  in  both  does  service  of  extreme  value  to  the  Church 
and  Nation.  "A  record  only  too  brief  of  some  of  the  real  por- 
traits of  humanity,  painted  by  a  pencil,  tender  itideed  and  sympa- 
thetic, but  with  too  clear  a  sight,  too  ready  a  sense  of  humour,  and 
too  conscientious  a  spirit  mer  to  exaggerate,  extenuate,  or  aught  set 
dmvn  in  malice."— Gv\B.vlA^. 

Fawcett.— Works  by  Henry  Fawcett,  M.A.,  M.P.,  Fellow  of 
Trinity  Hall,  and  Professor  of  Political  Economy  in  the  University 
of  Cambridge  : — 

THE     ECONOMIC    POSITION    OF     THE     BRITISH 
LABOURER.     F:xtra  fcap.  8vo.     5^. 

This  work  formed  a  portion  of  a  course  of  Lectures  delivard  by  the 
author  in  the  University  of  Cambridge,  and  he  has  deemed  it 
advisable  to  retain  many  of  the  expositions  of  the  elementary  prin- 
ciples of  Economic  Science.  In  the  Introductory  Chapter  the 
author  points  out  the  scope  of  the  work  and  sho7VS  the  vast  import- 
ance of  the  subject  in  relation  to  the  commercial  prosperity  and  roen 
the  national  existence  of  Britain.  Then  follow  five  chapters  on 
"  The  Land  Tenure  of  England,"  "Co-operation,"  "The  Causes 
which  regulate  Wages,"  "Trade  Unions  and  Strikes,"  and 
"Emigration."  The  Examiner  calls  the  work  "a  very  scholarly 
exposition  on  some  of  the  most  essential  questions  of  Political 
Economy;"  and  the  N(3NCONFORMIst  says  "it  is  -written  with 
chaj-ming  freshness,  ease,  and  lucidity." 

MANUAL  OF  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.      Third   and  Cheaper 
Edition,  with  Two  New  Chapters.     Crown  8vo.     \os.  6d. 

In  this  treatise  no  important  branch  of  the  subject  has  been  omitted, 
and  the  author  belir.'cs  that  the  principles  which  are  therein  ex- 
plained will  enable  the  reader  to  obtain  a  tolerably  complete  viciu  of 
the  whole  science.  Mr.  Fawcett  has  endeavoured  to  sho70  ho7if 
intimately  Political  Economy  is  connected  with  the  practical  ques- 
tions of  life.  For  the  convenience  of  the  ordinary  reader,  and 
especially  for  those  who  may  use  the  book  to  prepare  themselves  for 


WORKS  IN  POLITICS,  ETC. 


F a WC e tt  ( H . )~-contimted. 

examinations,  he  has  prefixed  a  very  detailed  stimmajy  of  Contents, 
which  may  be  regarded  as  an  analysis  of  the  work.  The  nr..' 
*Ution  has  been  so  carefully  revised  that  there  is  scarcely  a 
page  in  which  some  impnn'ement  has  not  been  introduced.  The 
Daily  Ni:\vs  says:  "It  forms  one  of  the  best  introductions  to  the 
principles  of  the  science,  and  to  its  practical  applications  in  the 
problems  of  modern,  and  especially  of  English,  governmeiit  and 
society."  "  The  book  is  written  throughout,"  says  the  Examiner, 
"with  admirable  force,  clearness,  and  brtvity,  every  important 
part  of  the  subject  being  duly  considered." 

PAUPERISM  :  ITS  CAUSES  AND  REMEDIES.     Crown  8vo. 
^s.  6d. 

In  its  number  for  March  nth,  1 87 1,  ///i' Spectator  i-^-?;/;  "  JP^ewish 
Professor  Fawcett  would  dez'ote  a  little  more  of  his  time  ami  energy 
to  the  practical  consideration  of  that  monster  proble7n  of  Pauperism . 
for  the  treatment  of  which  his  economic  kno^dedge  and  popular 
sympathies  so  eminently  fit  him."  The  volume  noio  published  mar 
be  regarded  as  an  ans-wer  to  the  above  challenge.  The  sroen 
chapters  it  comprises  discuss  the  follo7üing  subjects : — /.  "Pauperism 
and  the  old  Poor  Lara'."  II.  "  The  present  Poor  lari'  System." 
III.  ' '  Th  e  Increase  of  Population ."  IP\  "  Amotion  a  I  Ed ?i  cation  : 
its  Economic  and  Social  Effects."  V.  "Co-partnership  and  Co- 
operation." VI.  "The  English  System  of  Laml  Tenure."  VI f. 
"  The  Inclosure  of  Commons."  The  Athenäum  calls  thervork  "a 
repa'tory  of  interesting  and  well-digested  information." 

ESSAYS  ON  POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL  SUBJECTS.  By  Pro- 
fessor Fawcett,  M.P.,  and  Millicent  Garrett  Fawcett. 
8vo.     los.  6d. 

This  volume  contains  fourteen  papers,  some  of  which  have  appeared 
in  various  journals  and  periodicals  ;  others  have  not  before  been 
published.  They  are  all  on  subjects  of  great  importance  and  uni- 
versal interest,  and  the  names  of  the  two  authors  arc  a  S7(fficient 
guarantee  that  each  topic  is  discjissed  with  full  knozdedge,  great 
ability,  clearness,  and  earnestness.  The  following  are  some  of  the 
titles: — "  Modern  Socialism  ;"  " Free  Education  in  its  Economic 
Aspects ;"  "Pauperism,  Charity,  and  the  Poor  Law  :"  "  National 
Debt  and  National  Prosperity  :"  "  IVhat  can  be  done  for  the 

c 


r 


i# 


34 


MACMILL^IN'S  CATALOGUE  OF 


WORKS  IN  POLITICS,  ETC. 


35 


Agricultural  Lahonrcrs  f  "  The  Education  of  Women  f  "  The 
Electoral  Disabilities  of  Women  i'^  ''^  TJie  House  of  Lords.'''*  Each 
article  is  signed  with  the  initials  of  its  author. 

Fawcett  (Mrs.)— political  ECONOMY  FOR  BEGIN- 
NERS. WITH  QUESTIONS.  By  Millicent  Garrett 
Fawcett.     iSmo.     2.f.  dd. 

In  this  little  ivorh  are  explained  as  briefly  as  possible  the  most  im- 
portant principles  of  Political  Economy y  in  the  hope  that  it  ivill  he 
useful  to  i>egi!inersy  and  po'haps  be  an  assistance  to  those  lidio  are 
desirous  of  introducing  the  study  of  Political  Economy  to  schools. 
In  order  to  adapt  the  book  especially  for  school  tise,  questions  have 
been  added  at  the  end  of  each  chapter.  The  Daily  News  calls  it 
'■''deary  compact^  and  comprehensive :''''  and  the  Spectator  says^ 
'■''Mrs.  Eaiucett^s  treatise  is  perfectly  suited  to  its  pu?pose." 

Freeman   (E.    A.,    M.A.,    D.C.L.)— HISTORY    OF 

FEDERAL     GOVERNMENT.       See  p.  6  of  preceding    His- 
torical Catalogue. 

Godkin  (James).— THE   LAND  WAR   IN   IRELAND.     A 

History  for  the  Times.     By  James  Godkin,  Author  of  "Ireland 
and  her  Churches,"  late  Irish  Correspondent  of  the  Times.     8vo. 

12S. 

A  History  of  the  Irish  Land  Question.     "  There  is  probably  no  other 
account  so  compendious  and  so  complete. " — Fortn  ightly  Review. 

Guide  to  the  Unprotected,  in  Every  Day  Matters  Re- 
lating to  Fropcrty  and  Income.  By  a  Banker's  Daughter. 
Third  Edition.     p:xtra  fcap.  8vo.     35.  6d. 

Many  u<idcnvs  and  single  ladies,  and  all  young  people,  on  first 
possessing  money  of  their  cnun,  are  in  want  of  advice  when  they 
have  commonplace  business  matters  to  transact.  The  author  of 
this  work  writes  for  those  who  kno^o  nothing.  Her  aim  throughout 
is  to  avoid  all  technicalities;  to  give  plain  and  practical  directions, 
not  only  as  to  what  ought  to  be  done,  but  ho7u  to  do  it.  "Many  an 
unprotected  females  will  bless  the  head  which  planned  and  the  hand 
which  compiled  this  admirable  little  manual.  .  .  .  This  book  was 
very  much  wanted,  and  it  could  not  have  been  befta-  done."— 
Morning  Star. 


Hill.— CHILDREN  OF  THE  STATE.  THE  TRAINING  OF 
JUVENILE  PAUPERS.  By  Florence  Hill.  Extra  fcap. 
8vo.  cloth.     5;". 

In  this  work  the  author  discusses  the  various  systems  adopted  in  this 
and  other  countries  in  the  treatment  of  pauper  children.  The 
Birmingham  Daily  Gazette  r^/Zi- zV  "a  valuable  contribution 
to  the  great  and  important  social  question  which  it  so  ably  and 
thoroughly  discusses ;  and  it  must  materially  aid  in  producing  a 
wise  method  of  dealing  with  the  Children  of  the  State.^'' 

Historicus. — LETTERS  ON  SOME  QUESTIONS  OF 
INTERNATIONAL  LAW.  Reprinted  from  the  Times,  with 
considerable  Additions.  8vo.  7^.  dd.  Also,  ADDITIONAL 
LETTERS.     8vo.     2s.  6d. 

The  author'' s  intention  in  these  Letters  was  to  illustrate  in  a  popular 
form  clearly-established  principles  of  law,  or  to  refute,  as  occasion 
required,  errors  which  had  obtained  a  mischievous  currency.  He 
has  endeavoured  to  establish,  by  sufficietit  authority,  propositions 
which  have  been  inconsUlerately  impugned,  and  to  point  out  the 
various  methods  of  reasoning  which  liave  led  some  modern  writers 
to  erroneous  conclusions.  The  volume  contains:  Letters  on  '''■Recog- 
nition;'" '''■On  the  Perils  of  Intervention;''''  '■'■The  Rights  and 
Duties  of  Neutral  Nations;'"  "On  the  Law  of  Blockade ;''"'  "On 
Neutral  Trade  in  Contraband  of  War;"  "  On  Belligerent  Viola- 
tion of  Neutral  Rights;"  "The  Foreign  Enlistment  Act ;"  "The 
Right  of  Search;"  extracts  from  letters  on  the  Afiair  of  the 
Trent ;  and  a  papei'  on  the  "Territoriality  of  the  Merchant 
Vessel." — *'//  is  seldom  that  the  doctrines  of  International  Law  on 
dcbateahle  points  have  been  stated  with  more  vigour,  p-ecision,  and 
certainty.  "—Saturday  Review, 

Je vons.— Works  by  W.  Stanley  Jevons,  M.A.,  Professor  of 
Lo<^ic  and  Political  Economy  in  Owens  College,  Manchester.  (For 
other  Works  by  the  same  Author,  see  Educational  and  Philo- 
sophical Catalogues.) 

THE  COAL  QUESTION  :  An  Inquiry  Concerning  the  Progress 
of  the  Nation,  and  the  Probable  Exhaustion  of  our  Coal  Mines. 
Second  Edition,  revised.     8vo.     lOi^.  (id. 

c  2 


S 


36        *^'    MACMILLAX'S  CATALOGUE  OF 
^. 


J  e  VO  n  S    ( W".  S .  ^^— continued. 

''Day  by  day''  the  author  says,  "?/  becomes  more  nddent  that  the 
coal  7üe  happily  possess  in  excellent  quality  and  abundance  is  the 
mainspring  of  modern  material  civilization.''  Geologists  and 
other  competent  authorities  have  of  late  been  hinting  that  the 
supply  of  coal  is  by  no  means  inexhaustible,  and  as  it  is  of  vast 
importance  to  the  country  and  the  world  generally  to  kno7u  the  real 
state  of  the  case,  Professor  Jti'ons  in  this  work  has  endeavoured  to 
solve  the  question  as  far  as  the  data  at  command  admit.  He 
believes  that  should  the  consumption  multiply  for  rather  more  than 
a  centuiy  at  its  present  rate,  the  average  depth  of  our  coal  mines 
would  be  so  reduced  that  we  could  not  long  continue  our  present  rate 
of  progress.  **  IVe  have  to  make  the  momentous  choice,"  he  believes, 
''betioeen  brief  greatness  and  long-continued  prosperity." — ''The 
question  of  our  supply  of  coal,"  says  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette,  "be- 
comes a  question  obviously  of  life  or  death.  .  .  .  The  whole  case  is 
stated  laith  admirable  clearness  and  cogency.  .  .  .  We  may  regard 
his  statements  as  una  ns^oered  and  practically  established." 

THE  THEORY  OF  POLITICAL  ECONOMY.     8vo.     9.^. 

///  this  work  Professor  yez'ons  endeavours  to  construct  a  theory  of 
Political  Economy  on  a  mathematical  or  quantitative  basis,  believing 
that  many  of  the  commonly  received  theories  in  this  science  are  pe)-- 
niciously  ei-roneous.  The  author  here  attempts  to  treat  Econofuy 
as  the  Calculus  of  Pleasure  and  Pain,  and  has  sketched  out,  almost 
irrespective  of  pmious  opinions,  the  form  which  the  science,  as  it 
seems  to  him,  must  ultimately  take.  The  theory  consists  in  apply- 
ing the  differential  calculus  to  the  familiar  notions  of  Wealth, 
IHilHy,  Value,  Demand,  Supply,  Capital,  Interest,  Labour,  and 
all  the  other  notions  belonging  to  the  daily  operations  of  industry. 
As  the  complete  theory  of  almost  every  other  science  involves  the  use 
ofthat  calculus,  so,  the  author  thinks,  we  cannot  have  a  true  theory 
of  Political  Economy  without  its  aid.  '"'Professor  Jevons  has  done 
invaluable  serznce  by  courageously  claiming  political  economy  to  be 
strictly  a  branch  of  Applied  y]/<7///^/;/rt//V-^."— Westminster 
Review. 

Martin. — THE  STATESMAN'S  YEAR-BOOK:  A  Statistical 
and  Historical  Annual  of  the  States  of  the  Civilized  World. 
Handbook  for  Politicians  and  Merchants  for  the  year  1872.     By 


WORKS  IN  POLITICS,  ETC 


37 


Frederick  Martin.     Ninth  Annual  Publication.     Revised  after 
Official  Returns.     Crown  Svo.     10s.  6d, 

The  StatesmatCs  Year-Book  is  the  only  work  in  the  English  language 
which  furnishes  a  clear  and  concise  account  of  the  actual  condition 
of  all  the  States  of  Europe,   the  civilized  countries  of  America, 
Asia,  and  Africa,  and  the  British  Colonies  and  Dependencies  in 
all  parts  of  the  world.      The  fiew  issue  of  the  work  has  been  revised 
and  corrected,  on  the  basis  of  official  reports  received  direct  from  the 
heads  of  the  leading  Governments  of  the  world,  in  reply  to  letters  sent 
to  them  by  the  Editor.     Th'ough  the  valuable  assistance  thus  given, 
it  has  been  possible  to  collect  an  aijiount  of  information,  political, 
statistical,  and  commercial,  of  the  latest  date,  atid  of  unimpeachable 
trustworthiness,  such  as  no  publication  of  the  same  kind  has  ever 
been  able  to  furnish.      The  ne^v  issue  of  the  Statesman's  Year- 
Book  has  a  Chronological  Account  of  the  principal  events  of  the 
past  momentous  tioelve  months.    "As  indispensable  as  Bradshaw." 
— Times. 


Phillimore. — PRIVATE  LAW  AMONG  THE  ROMANS, 
from  the  Pandects.  By  John  George  Phillimore,  Q.C.  8vo. 
i6j. 

The  author's  belief  that  some  knowledge  of  the  Roman  System  oj 
Municipal  La7u  will  contribute  to  ij?iprove  our  own,  has  induced 
him  to  prepare  the  present  work.  His  endeavour  has  been  to  select 
those  parts  of  the  Digest  which  would  best  show  the  grand  manner 
in  which  the  Roman  jurist  dealt  with  his  subject,  as  tuell  as  those 
which  most  illustrate  the  principles  by  which  he  was  guided  in 
establishing  the  great  lines  and  propositions  of  jurisprudence,  which 
every  lawya-  must  have  frequetit  occasion  to  employ.  "Mr.  Philli- 
more has  done  good  service  towards  the  study  of  jurisprudence  in 
this  country  by  the  production  of  this  volume.  The  work  is  one 
which  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  student." — Athenäum. 

Smith. — Works  l)y  Professor  Goldwin  Smith  :— 

A  LETTER  TO  A  WHIG  MEMBER  OF  THE  SOUTHERN 
INDEPENDENCE  ASSOCIATION.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.     2s. 

This  is  a  Letter,  written  in  1864,  to  a  nmnber  of  an  Association 
formed  in  this  country,  the  purpose  of  which  was  "to  lend  assistance 


38 


M ACM  ILL  AN' S  CATALOGUE  OF 


\ 


Smith  (Prof.  Q.)— continued. 

to  the  Slave-oiuners  of  the  Southern  States  in  their  attempt  to  effect  a 
disruption  of  the  A/ncricaft  Comvion-vealth,  and  to  establish  an 
independent  Po7uer^  having,  as  they  declare,  Sl^tvery /or  its  corner- 
stone." Mr.  Smith  cndcaimirs  to  sho7u  that  in  doing  so  they 
ivould  have  committed  a  great  folly  and  a  still  greater  crime. 
71ii-oughout  the  Letter  many  points  of  general  and  permanent 
importance  are  discussed. 

THREE  ENGLISH  STATESMEN:  PYM,  CROMWELL, 
PITT.  A  Course  of  Lectures  on  the  I'olitical  History  of  England. 
Extra  fcap.  8vo.     New  and  Cheaper  Edition,     ^s. 

"■A  7i'ork  luhich  neither  historian  7ior  politician  can  safely  afford  to 
ne;:lect. " — Saturday  Review.  "  ' '  There  are  outlines,  cleai-ly  ami 
boldly  sketched,  if  mere  outlines,  of  the  three  Statesmen  tuho  give  the 
titles  to  his  lectures,  ivhich  are  well  deserving  of  study.'' —  Si'ECTATO  K. 

Social  Duties  Considered  with  Reference  to  the 

ORGANIZATION  OF  EFFORT  IN  WORKS  OF  BE- 
NEVOLENCE AND  PUBLIC  UTILITY.  By  a  Man  of 
Business.     (William  Ratiiüo.ne.)    Fcap.  8vo.    4^.  6d. 

The  contents  of  this  valuable  little  book  are — /.  " Social  Disintegra- 
tion." IL  '•''Our  Charities — Done  and  Undone.'^  III.  ''Organiza- 
tion and  Individual  Bcntvolence — their  Achievements  and  Short- 
comings.'" IV.  "  Organization  and  Individualism — their  Co- 
operation Indispensable."'  V.  ''Instances  and  Experiments.''''  VI. 
"■'  The  Sphere  of  Government.'''  "Conclusion."  The  viaos  urged 
are  no  Sentimental  theories,  but  hazegro^un  out  0/  the  practical  ex- 
perience acquired  in  actual  work.  "Air.  Rathbone's  earnest  and 
large-hearted  Utile  book  will  help  to  generate  both  a  larger  and  wiser 
;7/<7;7/)'."— Brittsh  Quarteri-^-. 

Stephen      (C.      E.)— THE     SERVICE     OF     the     POOR; 

Being  an  Inquiry  into  the  Reasons  for  and  against  the  Establisli- 
nicnt  of  Rehgious  Sisterhoods  for  Charitable  Purposes.  By 
Caroline  Emilia  Stephen.     Crown  Svo.     6.-.  dd. 

Miss   Stephen    deßnes   Religious   Sisterhoods    as    "associations,  the 
organization  of  which  is  based  upon  the  assumption  that  works  of 
charity  are  either  acts  of  worship  in  themselves,  or  means  to  an  end, 
that  end  being  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  objects  or  the  performers 


WORKS  IN  POLITICS,  ETC. 


39 


of  those  works.''  Arguing  from  that  point  of  view,  she  devotes  the 
first  part  of  her  volume  to  a  brief  history  of  religious  associations, 
taking  as  specimens — /.  The  Deacotiesses  of  the  Primitive  Church. 
II.  TheBeguines.  III.  The  Third  Order  of  S.  Francis.  IV.  The 
Sisters  of  Charity  of  S.  Vincent  de  Paul.  V.  The  Deaconesses  of 
Modern  Germany.  In  the  second  part.  Miss  Stephen  attempts  to 
shoiu  vohat  are  the  real  wants  met  by  Sisterhoods,  to  what  extent  the 
same  wants  may  be  effectually  met  by  the  organization  of  corre- 
spoiuiing  institutions  on  a  secular  basis,  and  what  are  the  reasons 
for  endeavouring  to  do  so.  ' '  The  ablest  advocate  of  a  better  line  of 
work  in  this  direction  than  7ue  have  eva-  seen.''' — Examiner. 


Stephen     (J.    F.)— A    general    view    of    the 

CRIMINAL  LAW  OF  ENGLAND.  By  James  Fitzjames 
Stephen,  M.A.,  Barrister-at-Law,  Member  of  the  Legislative 
Council  of  India.     Svo.     i%s. 


The  object  of  this  work  is  to  give  an  account  of  the  general  scope, 
tetidency,  and  design  of  an  important  part  of  our  institutions, 
of  which  surely  ?ione  can  have  a  gi'eater  moral  signifieance,  or  be 
more  closely  connected  with  broad  principles  of  morality  and 
politics,  than  those  by  which  men  rightfully,  deliberately,  and  in 
cold  blood,  kill,  enslave,  arui  otherzuise  torment  their  fellozu- 
creatures.  The  author  believes  it  possible  to  explain  the  pi'inciples 
of  such  a  system  in  a  mangier  both  intelligible  and  intertstin<-^. 
The  Contents  are— I.  "The  Province  of  the  Cj'iminal  law." 
II.  "Historical  Sketch  of  English  Ci-iffiinal  Law."  III.  "Defi- 
nition of  Crime  in  General."  IV.  "  Classification  attd Definition 
of  Particular  Crimes."  V.  "  Criminal  Procedure  in  General." 
VI.  "English  Criminal  Procedure."  VII.  "The  Principles  oj 
Evidence  in  Relation  to  the  Criminal  lazo.''  VIII.  "En 'dish 
Rules  of  Evidence."  IX.  " EnglisJi  Criminal  Legislation." 
The  last  1 50  pages  are  occupied  zuith  the  discussion  of  a  number 
of  important  cases.  "Readers  feel  in  his  book  the  confiience  zvhich 
attaches  to  the  zuritings  of  a  man  zvho  has  a  gj-eat  p7'actical 
acquaintance  zoith  the  matter  of  which  he  zvrites,  and  lazuyers  will 
agree  that  it  fully  satisfies  the  standard  of  professional  accuracy  T 
—Saturday  Review.  "  His  style  is  forcible  and  perspicuous,  and 
singidarly  free  from  the  unnecessary  use  of  professional  terms." — 
Spectator. 


A 


40 


MACMILLAN'S  CATALOGUE. 


Thornton. — on  LABOUR  .-  its  Wrongful  Claims  and  Riglulul 
Dues  ;  Its  Actual  Present  State  ami  Possible  Future.  By  William 
Thomas  Thornton,  Author  of"  A  Plea  for  Peasant  Proprietors," 
etc.     Second  Edition,  revised.     8vo.      \&fS. 

The  object  of  this  volume  is  to  endeavour  to  find  'Ui  cure  for  human 
destitution^''  the  search  after  ivhich  has  been  the  passion  and  the 
7üork  of  the  author's  life.  The  ivork  is  divided  into  four  books, 
and  each  book  into  a  number  of  chapters.  Book  I.  ''Labour's 
Causes  of  Discontent."  JL  ''Labour  and  Capital  in  Debated 
HI.  "Labour  and  Capital  in  Antai^onism:'  IV.  " Labour  and 
Capital  in  Alliance.'''  All  the  higiily  important  problems  in  Social 
and  Tolitieal  Economy  connected  lAth  Labour  and  Capital  an 
here  discussed  luith  knoavledi^e,  77V(V/;-,  and  originality,  and  for  a 
noble  purpose.  The  neio  edition  has  been  thoroughly  rez-ised  and 
considerably  enlarged.  "  We  cannot  fail  to  recognize  in  his  7C'ork 
the  result  of  indepeiuient  thought,  high  moral  aim,  and  generous 

intrepidity  in  a  noble  cause A  really  7-aluable  contribution. 

'The  number  of  facts  accumulated,  both  historical  and  statistical, 
make  an  especially  valuable  portion  of  the  7vork." — Westminster 
Review. 


WORKS  CONNECTED  WITHTHE  SCIENCE 
OR  THE    HISTORY  OF  LANGUAGE. 

{For  Editions  of  Greek  and  Latin  Classical  Authors,   Gram- 
mars, and  other  School  'loorks,  see  Educational  Catalü(;ue.) 


Abbott.— A  SHAKKSPKRIAN  GRAMMAR  :  An  Auempt  u. 
illustrate  some  of  the  Differences  between  Elizabethan  and  Modern 
English.  l>y  the  Rev.  i:.  A.  Abbott,  M.A.,  Head  Master  of  the 
City  of  London  School.  For  the  Use  of  Schools.  Xew  and 
Enlarged  Edition.     J.xtra  fcap.  8vo.     6s. 

The  object  of  this  loork  is  to  furnish  students  of  Shakespeare  and 
Bacon  laith  a  short  systematic  account  of  some  points  of  difference 
betiveen  Elizabethan  Syntax  and  eur  oitm.  The  demand  for  a  tltird 
edititn  voithin  a  year  of  the  publication  of  the  first,  has  encouraged 
the  author  to  endeavour  to  nuike  the  ivork  someiuhat  more  useful, 
and  to  render  it,  as  jar  as  possible,  a  complete  book  of  reference  foj- 
all  dißculties  of  Shakesperian  Syntax  or  Prosody.  For  this  purpose 
the  7ohole  of  Shakespeare  has  been  re-read,  and  an  attempt  has  been 
made  to  include  loithin  this  edition  the  explanation  of  every 
idiomatic  dißculty  (xohere  the  text  is  not  confessedly  corrupt)  that 
comes  7vithin  the  province  of  a  grammar  as  distinct  from  a  glossary. 

The  great  object  being  to  make  a  useful  book  of  reference  for  students 
and  for  classes  in  schools,  sei'eral  Plays  have  been  indexed  so  fully, 
that  7üith  the  aid  of  a  glossary  and  historical  notes  the  references 
will  serve  jor  a  complete  commentaiy.  "A  critical  inquiry,  con- 
ducted 7vith  great  skill  and  kno^uledge,  and  with  all  the  appliances 
of  modern  philology."— ?Ai.i.  Mall  Gazette.  "Valuable  not 
only  as  an  aid  to  the  critical  study  of  Shakespeare,  but  as  tending  to 
familiarize  the  reader  with   ILlizabethan  English  in  general." — 

ATHEN.KL'M. 


\\ 


42 


MACMILLAN'S  CATALOGUE  OF 


Besant.— STUDIES  in  early  French  poetry.  By 

Walter  Besant,  M.  A.     Crown  8vo.     Sj.  dd. 

A  sort  of  impression  rests  on  most  minds  that  French  literature  öe<^'ins 
with  the  '•''siccle  de  Louis  Quatorze ;''''  any  prez'ious  literature  being 
for  the  most  part  unknoion  or  ignored.  Feio  know  anything  of  the 
enormous  literary  activity  that  began  in  the  thirteenth  century,  zvas 
carried  on  by  Rulebeuf  Marie  de  France^  Gaston  de  Foix^  Thibanlt 
de  Champagne,  and  Lorris ;  was  fostered  by  Charles  of  Orleans^ 
by  Margaret  of  Valois,  by  Francis  the  Fust;  that  gave  a  craivd  oj 
versifiers  to  France,  enriched,  strengthened,  dei'eloped,  and  fixed  the 
French  language,  aiul  prepared  the  way  for  Corneille  and  for 
Racine.  The  present  work  aims  to  afford  information  and  direction 
touching  these  early  efforts  of  France  in  poetical  literature.  ^^In  one 
moderately  sized  volume  he  has  contrived  to  introduce  us  to  the  very 
best,  if  not  to  all  of  the  early  French  poets."" — Athenveum. 
*■*■  Industry,  the  insight  of  a  scholar,  and  a  genuine  enthusiasm  for 
his  subject,  combine  to  make  it  of  very  considerable  value.^^ — 
Spectator. 

Helfenstein  (James).— A  COMPARATIVE  GRAMMAR 

OF  THE  TEUTONIC  LANGUAGES  :  Being  at  the  same 
time  a  Historical  Grammar  of  the  English  Language,  and  com- 
prising Gothic,  Anglo-Saxon,  Early  English,  Modern  English, 
Icelandic  (Old  Norse),  Danish,  Svvedisli,  Old  High  German, 
Middle  High  German,  Modem  German,  Old  Saxon,  Old  Frisian, 
and  Dutch.     By  James  Helfenstein,  Ph.D.     8vo.     \%s. 

This  work  traces  the  different  stages  of  drjclopment  through  which  the 
various  Teutonic  languages  have  passed,  and  the  laws  which  have 
regidated  their  growth.  The  reader  is  thus  enabled  to  study  the 
relation  which  these  languages  bear  to  one  another,  and  to  the  Eng- 
lish language  in  particular,  to  udiich  special  attention  is  devoted 
throughout.  In  the  chapters  on  Ancient  and  Middle  Teutonic 
languages  no  grammatical  form  is  omitted  the  knoivledge  of  lühich 
is  required  for  the  study  of  ancient  literatiwe,  whether  Gothic  or 
Anglo-Saxon  or  Early  EngiisJi.  To  each  chapter  is  prefixed  a 
sketch  shoT-oing  the  relation  of  the  Teutonic  to  the  cogtiate  languages, 
Greek,  Latin,  a7id  Sanskrit.  Those  who  have  mastered  the  book 
will  be  in  a  position  to  proceed  with  intelligence  to  the  more  elaborate 
works  of  Grimm,  Bopp,  Pott,  Schleicher,  and  others. 


WORKS  ON  LANGUAGE. 


43 


Morris.— HISTORICAL  OUTLINES  OF  ENGLISH  ACCI- 
DENCE, comprising  Chapters  on  the  History  and  Development 
of  the  Language,  and  on  Word-formation.  By  the  Rev.  Richard 
Morris,  LL.D.,  Member  of  the  Comicil  of  the  Philol.  See, 
Lecturer  on  English  Language  and  Literature  in  King's  College 
School,  Editor  of  "Specimens  of  Early  English,"  etc.,  etc. 
Fcap.  8vo.     6s. 

Dr.  Morris  has  endeavoured  to  write  a  work  which  can  be  pi'ofitably 
used  by  students  and  by  the  upper  forms  in  our  public  schools.  His 
almost  unequalled  knozoledge  of  early  English  Literature  renders 
him  peculiarly  qualified  to  write  a  work  of  this  kind ;  and  English 
Grammar,  he  believes,  without  a  reference  to\the  older  forms,  must 
appear  altogether  anomalous,  inconsistent,  and  unintelligible.  In 
the  writing  of  this  volume,  moreover,  he  has  taken  advantage  of  the 
researches  into  our  language  made  by  all  the  most  emineiit  scholars 
in  England,  ^^ .  "ica,  a7id  on  the  Continent.  The  author  shows 
the  place  of  English  ajiiong  the  languages  of  the  world,  expounds 
clearly  and  with  great  minuteness  "  Grimm's  Law,""  gives  a  brief 
history  of  the  English  language  and  an  account  of  the  various 
dialects,  investigates  the  history  and  pHnciples  of  Phonology, 
Orthography,  Accent,  and  Etymology,  and  dezvtes  several  chapters 
to  the  consideration  of  the  various  Parts  of  Speech,  and  the  final 
one  to  Derivation  and  Wordfortnation. 


Peile  (John,  M.A.)— an  INTRODUCTION  to  GREEK 
AND  LATIN  ETYMOLOGY.  By  John  Peile,  M.A., 
Fellow  and  Assistant  Tutor  of  Christ's  College,  Cambridge, 
formerly  Teacher  of  Sanskrit  in  the  University  of  Cambridge. 
New  and  revised  Edition.      Crown  8vo.      \os.  6d. 

These  Philological  Lectures  are  the  result  of  Notes  made  during  the 
autho7''s  reading  for  some  years  previous  to  their  publication.  These 
Azotes  were  put  into  the  shape  of  lectures,  delivered  at  Christ's 
College,  as  one  set  in  the  ''Intercollegiate''  list.  They  have  been 
printed  with  some  additions  and  modifications,  but  substantially 
as  they  were  delivered.  ''The  book  may  be  accepted  as  a  veiy 
valuable  contribution  to  the  science  of  lang?tage."— Saturday 
Review. 


^V 


<n 


.  "-mr  ■"«■w 


44 


MACMILLAN'S  CATALOGUE  OF 


Philology.— THE  JOURNAL  OF  SACRED  AND  CLAS- 
SICAL PHILOLOGY.     Four  Vols.  Svo.     12^.6./. 

THE  JOURNAL  OF  PIHLOLOGY.  New  Series.  Edited  by  W. 
G.  Clark,  M.A.,  John  E.  B.  Mayor,  iM.A.,  and  W.  Aldis 
Wright,  M.A.  Nos.  \.  H.,  HL,  and  IV.  8vo.  4^.  dd.  each. 
(Half-yearly.) 

Roby  (H.J.)— A  GRAMMAR  OF  THE  LATLN  LANGUAGE, 
FROM  PLAUTUS  TO  SUETONIUS.  By  Henry  John 
ROHY,  M.A.,  late  Fellow  of  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge. 
Part  I.  containing  : — Book  I.  Sounds.  Book  IL  Inflexions. 
Book  III.   Word  Formation.     Appendices.     Crown  8vo.  85.  6t/. 

Ulis  lüork  is  the  result  of  an  independent  and  earejul  study  of  the 
luriters  of  the  strictly  Classical  period,  the  period  embraced  between 
the  time  of  Plant  us  and  that  of  Suetonius.      The  author's  aim  has 
been  to  give  the  facts  of  the  huiguage  in  asft-ro  7L>ords  as  possible.  It 
luill  be  found  that  the  arrangement  of  the  book  and  the  treatment  0/ 
the  various  divisions  differ  in  many  respects  from  those  of  pmnous 
grammars.     Mr.  Roby  has  given  special  prominence  to  the  treat- 
ment of  Sounds  and  Word-formation  ;  and  in  the  First  Book  he  has 
done  much  to^vards  settling  a  discussion  which  is  «t  prjsent  largely 
eniracijti'-  the  attention  of  scholars,  7'iz.,  the  Pronunciation  of  the 
Classical  languages.     In  the  full  Appendices  -will  be  found  various 
valuable  details  still  further  illustrating  the  subjects  discussed  in  the 
text.      The  author'' s  reputation  as  a  scholar  and  critic  is  already 
well  kncrwn,  and  the  publishers  are  encouraged  to  believe  that  his 
present  work  will  take  its  place  as  perhaps  the  most  original,  exhaus- 
tive, and  scientific  grammar  of  the  Latin  language  that  has  iT'CJ- 
issued  from  the  British  press.      ''The  book  is  marked  by  the  clear 
and  practical  insight  of  a  master  in  his  art.     It  is  a  book  which 
ivould  do  honour  to  any  iW/«/;7."--ATHEN.KUM.    ''Brings  before 
the  student  in  a  methodical  form  the  best  results  of  modern  philology 
bearing  on  the  Latin  language.''' — SCOTSMAN. 

Taylor    (Rev.     Isaac).— WORDS    AND    PLACES;    or, 

Etymological  Illustrations  of  History,  Ethnology,  and  Geogi-aphy. 
By  the  Rev.  Isaac  Taylor.  Second  Edition.  Crown  8vo. 
12.V.  6d. 


WORKS  Oi\  LANGUAGE. 


45 


This  work,  as  the  Saturday  \<.vai^\\  acknowledges,  "is  one  which 
stands  alone  in  our  language.^''  The  subject  is  one  ackno7vledged  A' 
be  of  the  highest  importance  as  a  handmaid  to  History,  Ethnology, 
Geography,  and  ii'en  to  Geology  :  and  Mr.  Taylor'' s  work  has 
taken  its  place  as  the  only  English  authority  of7'aluc  on  the  subject. 
Not  only  is  the  work  of  the  highest  value  to  the  student,  but  7vill  be 
found  full  of  interest  to  the  general  reader,  affording  him  wonderful 
peeps  into  the  past  lij'e  and  wanderings  of  the  restless  race  to  which 
he  belongs.  Every  assistance  is  giveti  in  the  way  of  specially  pre- 
pai-ed  Maps,  Indexes,  and  Appendices  :  and  to  anyone  who  wishes 
to  pursue  the  study  of  the  subject  J'/trth er,  the  Bibliographical  List  of 
Books  will  be  found  invaluable.  The  Nonconformist  says,  ' '  The 
historical  importance  of  the  subject  can  scarcely  be  exaggerated. '^ 
'^ His  book,'''  the  Reader  says,  "loill  be  invaluable  to  the  student  of 
English  history. ""  "As  all  culti7>ated  minds  J  eel  curiosity  about 
local  names,  it  may  be  expected  that  this  will  become  a  household 
book,''  says  the  Guardian. 

Trench. — Works  by  R.  Chenevix  'I'rench,  D.D.,  Archbishop  of 
Dublin.  (For  other  Works  by  the  same  Author,  see  Theological 
Catalogue.) 

Archbishop  Trench  has  done  much  to  spread  an  interest  in  the  history 
of  our  English  tongue.  He  is  ackno^uledged  to  possess  an  un- 
common poiver  of  presenting,  in  a  clear,  instructive,  and  interesting 
manner,  the  fruit  of  his  cnvn  extensive  research,  as  well  as  the 
results  of  the  labours  of  other  scientific  and  historical  students 
of  language  ;  while,  <7j- ///^'AtheN/KUM  says,  "  his  sober  judgment 
and  sound  sense  are  barriers  against  the  misleading  infiuence  oj 
arbitrary  hypotheses. " 

SYNONYMS  OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.     New  Edition, 
enlarged.     8vo.  cloth,     lis. 

The  study  of  synonyms  in  any  language  is  7'aliiable  as  a  discipline  for 
training  the  mind  to  close  and  accurate  habits  of  thought ;  more 
especially  is  this  the  case  in  Greek — "a  language  spoken  by  a  people  of 
the  finest  and  subtlest  intellect;  who  saw  distinctions  wJiere  others  saw 
none;  7vho  divided  out  to  different  loords  what  others  often  were 
content  to  huddle  confusedly  under  a  common  term."  This  work  is 
recognized  as  a  valuable  companion  to  erwry  student  of  the  JVerc 
Testament  in  the  original.      This,  the  StTvnfh  Edition,  has  been 


.11 


46 


MACMILLANKS  CATALOGUE  OF 


Trench  (R.  C.) — contimtcd. 

carefully  reznscd,  and  a  considcrablj  number  ofneio  synonyms  added. 
Appended  is  an  index  to  the  synonyms,  and  an  Index  to  many  other 
words  alluded  to  or  explained  thronghont  the  7uork\  "'He  is,'"'  the 
AtiieN/EUM  says,  "^  guide  in  this  department  of  kno7vledge  to 
whom  his  readers  may  entrust  themselves  7vith  confidence ^ 

ON  TIIK  STUDY  OF  WORDS.  Lectures  Addressed  (originally) 
to  the  Pupils  at  the  Diocesan  Training  School,  Winchester. 
Fourteenth  Edition,  revised  and  enlarged.     Fcap.   Svo.     /^.  6d. 

This,  it  is  beliroed,  was  probably  the  first  7Vork  which  drriU  general 
attention  in  this  country  to  the  importance  and  interest  of  the 
critical  and  historical  study  of  English.  It  still  retains  its  place  as 
one  of  the  most  successfid  if  not  the  only  exponent  of  those  aspects 
of  Words  of  which  it  treats.  The  stibjects  of  the  sn'cral  Lectures 
are— I.  ''Introductory.''  II.  ''On  the  Poetry  of  Words:'  III. 
"  On  the  Morality  of  Words."  IV.  "On  the  History  of  Words." 
V.  "On  the  A'ise  of  Nr.v  Words."  VI.  "On  the  Distinction  of 
Words. ' '     VII  ' '  The  Schoolmaster's  Use  of  I Vords. ' ' 

ENGDISII  PAST  AND  PRESENT.  Seventh  Edition,  revised 
and  improved.     Fcap.  8vo.     4.f.  6d. 

This  is  a  sen'es  of  eight  lectures,  in  the  first  of -which  Archbishop 
Trench  considers  the  English  language  as  it  naiv  is,  decomposes  some 
specimens  of  it,  and  thus  discoz-ers  ofzohat  elements  it  is  compact.  In 
the  second  Lecture  he  considers  what  the  language  might  hare  been 
if  the  Norman  Conquest  had  nruer  taken  place.  In  the  following 
six  lectures  he  institutes  from  various  points  of  vir.v  a  comparison 
between  the  present  language  and  the  past,  points  out  gains  which  it 
has  made,  losses  which  it  has  endured,  and  generally  calls  attention 
to  some  of  the  more  important  changes  through  -which  it  has  passed, 
or  is  at  present  passing. 

A    SELECT    GLOSSARY     OF    ENGLLSII    WORDS    USED 

FORMERLY    IN    SENSES    DIFFERENT    FROM    THEIR 

PRESENT.     Third  Edition.     Fcap.  Svo.     4^. 

This  alphabetically  arranged  Glossary  contains  many  of  the  most 

important  of  those  English  words  which  in  the  course  of  time  have 

gradually  changed  their  meanings.     The  author's  object  is  to  point 

out  some  of  these  changes,  to  suggest  hoiu  many  more  there  may  be. 


WORKS  ON  LANGUAGE. 


47 


Trench    (R.    Q,,)— continued. 

to  sho7u  hoiv  slight  and  subtle,  while  yet  most  real,  these  changes 
have  often  been,  to  trace  here  and  their  the  progressive  steps  by 
which  the  old  meaning  has  been  put  off  and  the  new  fiut  on — the 
exact  road  which  a  word  has  travelled.  The  author  thus  hopes  to 
render  some  assistance  to  those  who  regard  this  as  a  serviceable  dis- 
cipline in  the  training  of  their  own  minds  or  the  minds  of  others. 
Although  the  book  is  in  the  form  of  a  Glossary,  it  will  be  found  as 
interesting  as  a  scries  of  brief  well-told  biographies. 

ON  SOME  DEFICIENCIES  IN  OUR  ENGLISH  DICTION- 
ARIP^S  :  Being  the  substance  of  Two  Papers  read  before  the 
Philological  Society.  Second  Edition,  revised  and  enlarged. 
8vo.     3^. 

The  folloaving  are  the  main  deficiencies  in  English  dictionaries  pointed 
out  in  these  Papers,  and  illustrated  by  an  interesting  accumulation  of 
particulars: — /.  "Obsolete  luords  arc  incompletely  registered."  II. 
"Families  or  groups  of  voords  are  often  impcjfect."  III.  "Much 
earlier  examples  of  the  employment  of  -words  oftentimes  exist  than 
any  which  are  cited,  and  fuuch  later  examples  of  ivords  no-w 
obsolete."  IV.  "Important  meanings  and  uses  of  words  are  passed 
over."  V.  '■'Comparatively  little  attention  is  paid  to  the  distinguish- 
ing of  synonymous  -words."  VI.  "Many passages  in  our  literature 
are  passed  by,  -whi^h  might  be  carefully  adduced  in  illustration  of 
the  first  introduction,  etymology,  and  meaning  of  7uords."  VII. 
"  Our  dictionaries  err  in  redundancy  as  -well  as  defect." 

Wood. — Works    by   H.    T.    W.    Wood,    B.A.,    Clare    College, 
Cambridge  : — 

THE  RECIPROCAL  INFLUENCE  OF  ENGLISH  AND 
FRENCH  LITERATURE  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH 
CENTURY.     Crown  8vo.     2s.  6d. 

This  Essay  gained  the  Le  Bas  Priu'  for  the  year  1869.  Besides  a 
general  Lntroductory  Section,  it  contains  other  three  Sections  on 
"  The  Lnfiucnce  of  Boileau  and  his  School ;"  "The  Lnfluence  of 
English  Philosophy  in  France;"  "Secondary  Influences — the 
Drama,  Fiction,"  etc.  Appended  is  a  Synchronological  Table  of 
Events  connected -with  English  and  French  Literature,  A.D.  1700  — 
A.D.  1800. 


4H 


JlIA  CMILLAN'S  CA  TALOGUE 


Wood  (H.  T.   '^.)— continued. 

CHANGES  IN  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE  BETWEEN 
THE  PUBLICATION  OF  WICLIF'S  BIBLE  AND  THAT 
OF  THE  AUTHORIZED  VERSION  ;  a.d.  i400toA.i).  1600. 
Crown  8vo.      2.S.  6d. 

This  Essay  gained  the  Le  Bas  Prize  for  the  year  1870.  Besides  the 
Introductory  Section  explaining  the  aim  and  scope  of  the  Essay ^ 
there  are  other  three  Sections  and  three  Appendices.  Section  If. 
treats  of  ^^ English  before  Chaucer.^'  III.  ^''  Chancer  to  Caxton.^' 
fV.  '■'' From  Caxton  to  the  Authorized  Version.^'' — Appendix:  I. 
^^ Table  of  English  Literature^'"'  A.D.  1300 — A.D.  161 1.  //. 
''Early  English  Bible.''  III.  ''Inflectional  Changes  in  the  Verb." 
Ihis  ivill  be  found  a  most  valuable  help  in  the  study  of  our  language 
during  the  period  embraced  in  the  Essay.  "As  7ve  go  loith  him,'^ 
the  Athrn.'EUM  says,  "7ue  learn  something  ne-iV  at  er<ery  step.'' 

Yonge.— HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIAN  NAMES.  By  Char- 
[OTTE  M.  YoNGE,  Author  of  "The  Heir  of  Redclyffe."  Two 
\'ols.     Crown  Svo.     i/.  \s. 

Miss  Yonge' s  7vork  is  acknoavledged  to  be  the  authority  on  the  interest- 
iui^  subject  of  which  it  treats.  Until  she  7Wote  on  the  subject,  the 
hist orv  of  names — especially  Christian  Names  as  distinguished  from 
Surnames — had  been  but  little  examined ;  nor  lohy  one  should  be 
popular  and  another  forgotten — why  one  should  flourish  through- 
out Europe,  another  in  one  country  alone,  another  around  some 
petty  district.  In  each  case  she  has  tried  to  find  out  7ühence  the 
name  came,  whether  it  had  a  patron,  and  whether  the  patron  took 
it  from  the  myths  or  heroes  of  his  oion  country^  or  from  the  mean- 
ing of  the  7C'ords.  She  has  then  tried  to  classify  the  names,  as  to 
treat  them  merely  alphabetically  laould  destroy  all  their  interest  and 
connection.  They  are  classified  first  by  language,  beginning  with 
I/el>re7i'  and  coming  doiun  through  Greek  and  Latin  to  Celtic, 
7eutonic,  Slavonic,  and  other  sources,  ancioit  and  modern  ;  then 
by  meaning  or  spirit.  "An  almost  exhaustive  treatment  of  the 
subject  .  .  .  The  painstaking  toil  of  a  thoughtful  and  cultured  7nind 
on  a  most  interesting  theme." — London  Quarterly. 


R.    CLAY,  SONS,  AND  TAYLOR,    PRINTERS,   LONDON. 


\^ 


».  •» 


COL 


»■  < 


.    UNIVERSITY   LIBRARIES 


This  book  is  due  on  the  date  indicated  below,  or  at  the 
expiration  of  a  definite  period  after  the  date  of  borrowing,  as 
provided  by  the  library  rules  or  by  special  arrangement  with 
the  Librarian  In  charge. 


M5e21 


DATE  BORROWED 


DATE  DUE 


DATE  BORROWED 


DATE  DUE 


C28(94e)MIOO 


rl  '  Wf.  ;^^' Jß?'»  1A    4-«S^i*'  ^W%^ 


.t,;i,,^««.<:«i,<.i 


^f 


